Sinful Attraction
by TiRaMiSuLoVeR
Summary: One night, Ichigo has a strange dream, and the next thing he knows, he has a lust for blood...but not just anyone's blood...
1. Chapter 1

Hey here's a new story I decided to write about one of my favorite pairings ever IchiRuki! I got the idea for it one night when I was trying to sleep. It'll probably be one of my more serious stories…well I like to think it will be. Anyways I hope you like it.

**Chapter 1 A Dream**

"R-Rukia?" Ichigo opened his eyes groggily. "What the hell are you doing on my bed?!" The orange haired 16-year-old was shocked to find Rukia on top of him on his bed at 3:30 in the morning.

"I-I'm sorry Ichigo…" Rukia said with a look that contained of a mix of guilt and regret. "I just can't…control myself any longer." The petite girl said darkly as she moved her face closer to Ichigo's. Ichigo felt his face as well his whole body heat up, his heart was thumping out of his chest, but he couldn't make words come out of his mouth. As Rukia edged closer to Ichigo, so that he could feel her warm breath on his neck tickling his skin. Her soft lips were now just barely touching his neck, when suddenly a sharp pain went through Ichigo, followed by a slight numbness, and then a feeling of pure ecstasy that couldn't be expressed in words. Ichigo felt like he was in heaven and hell at the same time. He felt like he was floating on a cloud, like a flame was running through him. His eyes were slightly ajar, as he moaned in pleasure, that is until he noticed something dripping down his neck as well as the fact that Rukia was still by his side. Despite the complete delight he was experiencing, he forced himself to pull away from her, and as he did he saw Rukia's usually dark blue eyes were now a crimson red and glowing in the darkness of his bedroom. But that wasn't the strangest thing he saw…the pure white light from the moon poured in through Ichigo's window and illuminated Rukia's face displaying her sparkling white fangs dripping in blood, along with the rest of her mouth. She was wide-eyed when she looked at Ichigo, seemingly shocked by her own actions.

"Ichigo…I…I-." Rukia started

"W-what just happen…''Ichigo was asking, but the blood loss got the best of him and he fainted.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

_Beep…Beep…Beep…_

Ichigo woke up to the sound of his digital alarm clock beeping loudly on his nightstand. He reached his arm over and slammed the sleep button, stopping the blaring of his alarm. He pulled the covers over his head, in an attempt to return to his slumber, but then remembered something important. He quickly flung his blue comforter off of himself and glanced frantically in every direction. Remembering what had happened last night, he started checking for blood as proof that it really happened. However, there was nothing out of the ordinary at all, no blood, nothing suspicious. He raced into the bathroom to check in the mirror for a mark on his neck. _"W-What the hell?! I could have sworn…it couldn't have been a dream…it was just…just too real…"_ Ichigo thought to himself. "_…Rukia! I know that was her! I'll call her…and then…ask her if she-ah! No way in hell can I do that! But…why was she there? Why Rukia?" _

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Later that morning, when Ichigo was about to head off to school he noticed no one else was there. On a usual morning, Ichigo's younger sister, Yuzu would be in the kitchen cooking breakfast; Karin, Yuzu's twin sister would be grumbling and waiting for breakfast to be served. Their father, Isshin would be harassing his kids in some way or another, however none of that was happening. The kitchen was empty, no one was around. Ichigo figured this to be odd, but quickly remembered that Yuzu and Karin had no school today because they were going on a field trip in two days and their teacher told them to take the day off to pack and get prepared. Ichigo heard snoring coming from Isshin's bedroom, as the orange haired teen grabbed an apple, and made his way to the door.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

When Ichigo made it to school, he entered the classroom, to see that there was only one person sitting there. Of course that one person was Rukia Kuchiki. She immediately noticed him come in.

"Oh…it's just you Ichigo." Rukia stated flatly, looking disappointed.

"Well sorry for being me." Ichigo replied, partly offended, as he walked over to his seat which was next to Rukia's.

"No, it's just that I thought you were Ukitake-sensei."

"…Why were you waiting for him?" Ichigo asked, trying to hide his extreme interest in the said topic.

"Because I think I got this one question right on the test even though he marked it wrong." Rukia explained, as she showed him her test.

"Pfft…you only got 34 points out of 100." Ichigo snickered. "It's not like its going to make a difference if you got one more question right."

"S-shut up!" Rukia said with a humiliated expression on her face as she grabbed her test back from Ichigo. Ichigo just smirked at her, but then started to remember his dream, and looked away quickly. He looked out the window, while tapping his fingers on his desk nervously with one hand, and using his other hand to conceal his neck. "Hey…what's wrong with you?" Rukia looked at him strangely.

"…huh? N-nothing's wrong." Ichigo muttered as he avoided her eyes.

"Yeah right. You think I'm going to buy that?" Rukia gave him an all-knowing smirk. She and Ichigo had met when Rukia transferred to Karukara High School, halfway through their freshman year. They had clicked instantly, well not without their constant arguing, name calling, and occasional physical violence. Much of the school believed that the two were dating and some people still do, despite neither of them revealing such a thing. They just called each other close friends…even though deep inside they both knew their relationship was something much more. A bond in which Rukia would know if something were bothering Ichigo and how to get him to help himself, without him actually telling her that there was problem in the first place. A bond in which Ichigo would go to the ends of the earth to save Rukia, even if she didn't want him to.

"Fine…well I had this dream…" Ichigo started, but before he could continue Renji Abarai burst in the door. Sporting the standard Karakura school uniform, except his white shirt wasn't tucked in and his light gray blazer was unbuttoned, Renji's red hair was tied up like always with his white head band tied around his head. He walked in and looked around to find that Rukia and Ichigo were the only two people in the classroom.

"Yo…where's everyone else" The red head asked as he took his seat on the other side of Rukia.

"Oh hey Renji…so you're also early?" Rukia mused.

"Early? What's the time?" Renji said with a shocked look on his face.

"Its about half past 7." Ichigo glanced at his watch and told Renji.

"Damn…I could have slept for a whole half hour more!" Renji shouted, as he slammed his fist on his desk. "Wait…what are you guys doing here so early?"

"Sitting." Ichigo answered.

"Breathing." Rukia added. "Oh I'm also sitting too."

"And I'm also breathing." Ichigo smirked.

"You guys are idiots." Renji glared at the two as they flashed him mocking grins.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

It was lunch time, and Ichigo was eating on the school rooftop, a place where he and his friends usually enjoy their lunch. Along with Rukia and Renji, Hitsugaya Toshiro, Hinamori Momo, and Sado 'Chad' Yatsutora, came to eat lunch together.

"Ishida's not joining us?" Rukia wondered out loud.

"Why do you care if he's here?" Renji and Ichigo asked at the same time, and then glared at each other for asking at the same time.

"Doesn't he always eat alone in the crafts classroom?" Rukia said. "Ichigo go invite him to eat with us."

"What? Why do I have to?" Ichigo asked, clearly irritated.

"Fine, I'll come with you…let's go!" Rukia announced as she grabbed Ichigo by his arm and dragged him off. When they got to the crafts classroom, sure enough, there was Ishida sitting alone, quietly eating a piece of his sandwich.

"Ok…how should we approach him?" Rukia said seriously as she stood in a stance of action.

"…He's not a wild animal you idiot." Ichigo sighed.

"Ah K-Kurosaki-kun?" Ichigo and Rukia turned around to see Orihime Inoue standing there, smiling.

"Oh hey Inoue." Ichigo greeted the auburn haired girl.

"Eh? Are you eating lunch here with Kuchiki-san and Ishida-kun?"

"No...We're just-." Ichigo started.

"Oh look its Inoue! You want to eat lunch with us too?" Rukia smiled. "You should come too Ishida."

"I'm sorry, I will have to decline." Ishida stated.

"Oh come on Ishida-kun, it'll be fun, with everyone eating lunch together." Orihime told the bespectacled teen.

"No, really I…" Ishida tried to explain that he didn't want to go, but Orihime's sweet smile got to him. "F-fine…I'll come."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After school had finished, Ichigo was heading home by himself, when all of a sudden his head started pounding. He held his head with one hand and squeezed his eyes shut as if to stop the pain. He opened his eyes and suddenly everything was red. Red like blood. Everywhere. He heard himself shout out in pain, as everything got blurry. The last thing Ichigo heard was a voice calling his name before he collapsed onto the hard cement sidewalk.

* * *

**A/N**

Well that's it for the first chapter. Feel free to review, I'd like to know what people think.


	2. A Revelation

Hey, thanks for the reviews. You guys are awesome. Seriously. Oh yeah, and to answer your question, **mysteryinitself**, yes this is an AU. Hm, well that's all. Enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 2 A Revelation**

After school had finished, Ichigo was heading home by himself, when all of a sudden his head started pounding. He held his head with one hand and squeezed his eyes shut as if to stop the pain. He opened his eyes and suddenly everything was red. Red like blood. Everywhere. He heard himself shout out in pain, as everything got blurry. The last thing Ichigo heard was a voice calling his name before he collapsed onto the hard cement sidewalk.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

There was a loud thumping sound pulsating in Ichigo's chest, waking him up suddenly. He blinked repeatedly, but everything was still blurry and dark. He rubbed his eyes, struggling to see, but failed.

"Hello?" He said out loud, wondering if anyone was there. "Is anyone there—?" Ichigo's mouth was suddenly covered by someone's hand from behind him. The he heard a shhh from the person behind him, the voice sounded female, and her hands felt small wrapped around his neck. There was some light footsteps and chatter coming from a ways away, probably the next room, Ichigo figured. After the chatter and noise subsided, the person from behind, let go of Ichigo, and then turned on a small lamp nearby, illuminating the room with a slight orange glow. Ichigo quickly glanced in the direction of the light to see Rukia sitting there.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"R-Rukia? What the hell is--?" Ichigo started but was silenced when Rukia put a hand up.

"Relax Ichigo; I'll explain everything…eventually." Rukia stated in a calm manner.

"Eventually?! No! Explain everything right now! What the hell is going on? Where are we? What happened to me that time before?" Ichigo questioned Rukia impatiently and was met with a punch to the gut, causing Ichigo to fall backward on to the floor.

"What did I just say? I said relax! I'll explain everything! So shut up, sit down, and listen!" Rukia ordered, and gestured towards a pair of sofa chairs in the dimly lit room. Ichigo gave her an annoyed look, but sat down anyway, muttering something about always having to deal with violent/insane people. Rukia took a deep breath, and sat down on the other chair, across from Ichigo. "Ok…well you see…" She began. "Well basically I saw you collapsed on the sidewalk, so I took you home, and made you better. Ok that's all; good luck and see you next week!" She said quickly with a cheesy smile, and then pushed Ichigo into a nearby closet.

"What the hell?!" He shouted, but there was no response on the other side, and the doors wouldn't open up. Rukia quickly locked the closet doors, when someone knocked on her bedroom door.

"Come in." Rukia said, and a tired looking Renji waltzed in and collapsed on one of her chairs.

"Man this job is exhausting!" He complained. "Remember the good ole days when it was just the two of us…good times." He sighed.

"Uh yeah…good times…" Rukia responded, clearly distracted. "Uh look Renji…if you have nothing important to say, I kind of have some business to attend to—."

"Oh so now business is more important than your precious childhood friend? That is so sad. What has the corporate world done to you Rukia…?" Renji shook his head in disappointment. Rukia just blinked at him not quite knowing what to say. "Hey I was just kidding! Jeez you really got to stop hanging out with your brother. He tends to have a stick up his--."

"Oh so you were here Renji…" Byakuya Kuchiki appeared out of nowhere, shocking Renji right off his chair and into a salute position.

"Uh sir. You need me?" Renji asked, trying to be as polite and professional as possible.

"No…I came to see Rukia, but it appears she isn't here…" Byakuya stated, still giving Renji a what-are-you-doing-in-my-little sister's room-and-I'll-kill-you-if-you-don't-get-out-in-five-minutes-look.

"But sir…she was right here…" Renji turned around to see the room was empty, except for him and Byakuya. "Uh…but she was right there!" Byakuya gave him a questioning glance. "Well…maybe she left…I guess?" He figured, still confused.

"It appears so." Byakuya replied.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Ichigo was about to yell at Rukia for shoving him into her closet, when she started coming inside too, and shut the doors behind her.

"W-What are you doing?" He asked, with a confused expression.

"Hiding…they can't know I brought you here." Rukia explained.

"Who?"

"Nii-sama and Renji." Rukia finished.

"Your brother? Renji lives at your house? Why?" Ichigo asked even more confused.

"I'll explain that later. First, open your mouth." She said, staring him right in the face.

"H-huh?"

"Your mouth! Open your mouth!" She repeated as if this was completely normal. Ichigo thought this was strange, but opened his mouth anyways, and Rukia tried to look inside. She cupped her hand around his chin to see better. "Hmm…looks like they've come in." She observed.

"…What's come in?" He asked.

"Your fangs."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ne…Shiro-chan." Hinamori Momo poked her childhood friend, Hitsugaya Toshiro's face.

"Don't call me that, bed wetter Momo." He replied. Momo made a face at him.

"Ok then…_Hitsugaya-kun_…what are you doing?"

"Reading." He sighed, and turned a page to the book he was reading.

"Well…what are you going to be doing later?" She asked.

"Studying."

"What about tomorrow?"

"Going to school." He answered, in an uninterested tone.

"I mean after that!"

"Reading."

"Oh forget it! You're hopeless!" Momo sighed and walked away. Hitsugaya glanced up at her retreating figure, and then went back to reading his book.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Fangs? What am I some kind of monster?" Ichigo asked Rukia, giving her an "are-you-out-of-your-mind-look."

"No…not really a monster, so to speak. Just a vampire." Rukia said in a serious tone.

"…A what?"

"A vampire." Rukia replied. "Maybe you had a relative who was part of the family…"

"Family?"

"Oh well, you see vampires like to refer to other vampires as family."

"Oh well isn't that just so nice and cozy." Ichigo replied sarcastically.

"Anyways…so we're going to have to find you a dhampir partner."

"Oh of course, I think I know someone who can do it!" Ichigo said.

"Really? Who is it?" Rukia asked brightly.

"Like hell I know!" Ichigo pushed Rukia's head, causing her to hit the closet wall. "What the heck are you talking about?! Vampires? Are you insane?!" Ichigo shouted.

"Ow…that hurts you fool!" Rukia muttered and rubbed her head. "I'm not insane! It's true…you are becoming a vampire. Haven't you been having any lust for blood for lately?"

"No! Because I'm not a vampire and vampires don't freaking exist!" Ichigo responded.

"Hm, I guess it's still too early for that…well have you had any strange dreams lately? I mean related to blood, vampires, or you drinking blood?" Rukia asked. Ichigo was suddenly reminded of the dream he had last night…about Rukia drinking his blood. He told her about it. After Ichigo finished explaining about his dream, Rukia was blushing.

"Oi…what's wrong with you?" Ichigo asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Uh…n-nothing." Rukia looked away.

"L-Look it's not like I wanted to have such a weird-ass dream ok?" Ichigo blushed slightly as well, thinking about Rukia biting his neck, drinking his blood. For some reason the thought made him embarrassed. "Wait does that mean you're a vampire?"

"No…well not really. I'm a dhampir; it's sort of like a half-vampire, half-human. It means I was born from a vampire father and human mother. I don't need to drink blood and I'm not sensitive to sunlight, but I am stronger and faster than normal human beings." Rukia explained.

"Whoa...whoa...I still can't process this all. Vampires? I just don't know if I can believe in it...or them without any solid evidence." Ichigo told Rukia.

"I guess you're right. Hm ok, follow me." She said, and peeked outside the closet doors, to see her room empty. "Good…Nii-sama and Renji left." Rukia figured and opened the closet door, letting both herself and Ichigo out. Then she turned to Ichigo and said, "You want proof? I'll show you proof."

* * *

**A/N**

So how is it so far? Is it going a bit quick? Reviews are appreciated. Ok bye-bee!~


	3. A Drink

Hey, thanks so much for the reviews you guys. I smile stupidly and get all happy when I read them. You probably didn't want to know that, but what I'm trying to say is I really enjoy getting them. Oh and thanks also to the people who put this on their favorites list and alerts list. You guys are also awesome. Oh and I also want to let you know I'll probably be updating weekly, just in case you were wondering. Well, enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 3 A Drink**

"Kisuke, it seems we have a new one in the family." Youruichi Shihoin smiled, as she propped herself up on the wooden desk, her violet hair swaying in a ponytail behind her back. Urahara Kisuke, the man sitting behind the desk, a striped bucket hat covering his mysterious eyes.

"Hm yes Youruichi-san…it seems he's finally here, and Kuchiki-san is the one who discovered him." He smiled. "This should be quite interesting." Youruichi crawled across the desk towards Urahara, tipping his hat upwards and kissing him softly. "Ah…Youruichi-san…maybe we should wait until we get home…" He murmured, as Youruichi placed herself on top of him, running a dark elegant hand through his light blonde hair, as she kissed his neck. Urahara was about to embrace her, when the door slammed open. It was Renji, who didn't see anything, though, because Youruichi quickly jumped away as soon as the door opened.

"Oh sorry for bothering you…umm Rukia hasn't been around here lately has she?" Renji asked the two.

"No…I haven't seen here." Urahara responded calmly. "Is something wrong with Kuchiki-san?"

"Ah no, it's just that she disappeared suddenly from her room before…well its nothing, she'll probably show up soon. Sorry for the disturbance." Renji bowed slightly and left.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Why the hell is your house so big Rukia?" Ichigo sighed, as he followed Rukia down a dimly lit hallway.

"Shh…quiet." Rukia whispered, then crept up to one of the many doors in the hallway, and opened it slightly. There was some soft shuffling on the other side of the door. Rukia motioned Ichigo to come closer to see what was behind the door. When he did, he was…surprised to say the least. He quickly blushed and turned away.

"What the hell are you showing me?" He mouthed to Rukia. Rukia rolled her eyes, and grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him closer to the opening in the door.

"Look! That man is sucking the woman's blood." She whispered. He looked closer and noticed that Rukia was right. He nodded that he saw, and Rukia carefully slid the door shut. As they walked through the dim hallway, Ichigo was silent. "So? You believe me now?" Rukia asked.

"…I guess…but I just can't…vampires? Really? So what? You've just been living among humans as members of society?" Ichigo asked. "I mean…don't you have to…you know drink blood to survive?"

"Well like I said before…dhampirs like me don't need to drink blood, only the pure bloods do, and there's special people who offer their blood. Sometimes vampires are assigned dhampir partners to go around with them when they're among humans, in case the pure bloods get a thirst for blood, so the dhampirs can stop them. So basically any kind of dangerous situation can be avoided and we can live as normally as possible." Rukia explained.

"Oh…sounds like you guys got it all figured out huh?" Ichigo said.

"Well our species has been around for a while. You learn how to adapt and such after a while." Rukia replied. "So I think we need to…" Rukia was cut off, when Ichigo started clutching his head in pain.

"Aghh, what's happening to me?"

"It's a side effect of your fangs just coming in. Here open your mouth again." Rukia looked inside his mouth to see Ichigo's fangs were fully grown. "What? That can't be…they're fully grown…but how?" Rukia gasped.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Ichigo asked.

"N-Nothing...well it's not important right now, we have to get you to a supplier."

"A what?" Ichigo asked, still wincing from the headache.

"You're going to have your first drink of blood."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

There was a light knock at Byakuya's door. "Come in." Byakuya stated, and in came Renji with a concerned look on his face. "What is it Renji?"

"Sir, I couldn't find Rukia anywhere." Renji said.

"Very well, I will come with you and search." Byakuya replied.

"Eh?" Renji asked in shock, making Byakuya look at him in question. "Ah sorry sir, it's just unexpected for you to…well never mind."

"Come, let's go." Byakuya said, and they both headed out.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"We're going to have to go all the way across the house. Will you make it?" Rukia asked, as she glanced at Ichigo who was salivating now, and barely standing up right.

"Y-yeah…l-let's go…" Ichigo said, then fell towards Rukia, leaning on her.

"I-Ichigo…" Rukia tried to hold up Ichigo, whose mouth was right next to her neck, breathing heavily on her, his hot breath tickling her skin.

"C'mon…l-lets go…" Ichigo breathed out, forcing himself to keep moving.

"No. You'll never make it in your condition." Rukia said, then looked around and saw a hall closet nearby. She let out a deep breath, and then dragged Ichigo into the closet.

"W-What…are you…doing?" Ichigo asked, hazily. Rukia shut the closet doors swiftly, and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt. "R-Rukia…what are you...doing?" Ichigo felt his temperature rising, and his vision blurring.

"Here." Rukia yanked down her shirt collar. "Drink my blood." Ichigo blinked at Rukia who was wearing a serious expression. "It's the only way." She added. "Just do it!"

"I-I can't…you'll--."

"I'll be fine! You'll die if you don't! What'll happen to your family then?! Your sisters…your dad…do it for them!" Ichigo was speechless, but he nodded in agreement. He put his hand on her small shoulders and dug his newly grown fangs in to Rukia's neck, sucking out the sweet blood felt so rejuvenating for him. He felt like life was surging back into him. He needed more, and more and more. Rukia moaned slightly, her back was pressed to the closet wall, and her heart was thumping hard. She always imagined what it would be like if someone was drinking her blood. She imagined it would be painful, but she was wrong completely. It was almost…blissful. She felt like she was floating on the highest cloud. Then it was gone. Ichigo had stopped, and he was staring at her.

"…Are you…ok?" He asked nervously, as if he was afraid he hurt her.

"Why'd you stop?" Rukia absent mindedly said without thinking.

"Huh?"

"Ah I mean yeah…I'm ok. See I told you I'd be fine. What about you? Do feel any different?" Rukia asked, quickly.

"Uh yeah…I…I don't know how to explain it, like more energized." Ichigo replied.

"_Good."_ Rukia thought to herself in relief and rubbed her neck without thinking. She looked at the palm of her hand that was now covered with her own blood. She noticed Ichigo staring at her hand weirdly. "Um…do you want to?"

"Can I" Ichigo asked, and Rukia nodded and placed her palm in Ichigo's hands. He bent down and licked the blood off. Rukia and Ichigo were both thankful for the semi-darkness, so they couldn't see each other blushing. They both noticed the blood on Rukia's neck. "Uh…I probably should…"

"Uh yeah, sure." Rukia agreed to Ichigo getting off the remaining blood staining her neck. Ichigo awkwardly bent forward, and Rukia, equally as awkward, bent her neck to the side.

"Um…here I go." Ichigo announced, as he bent even closer, his mouth almost touching her skin now.

"You don't have to announce it…" Rukia mumbled, while blushing and looking away.

"S-Sorry…" Ichigo muttered, his low voice vibrating in Rukia's ears. He pressed his mouth to Rukia's neck, licking the spilt blood, making Rukia shiver in delight. His tongue brushing against her skin made her heart thump even more, it felt sinful.

"O-ok! That's enough!" Rukia blushed, and pushed Ichigo away.

"W-what's wrong? You're the one who offered!" Ichigo said, a bit offended.

"I-I know…but…well it doesn't matter now. It's getting a bit hot in here…l-let's get out of here." Rukia tried to change the subject quickly, and reached for the closet door, when Ichigo put a hand on her arm. She looked at him.

"Uh…well thanks." He said, then gave her a small smile. She smiled back at him. "Well let's get out of here now."Ichigo said, and Rukia nodded and opened the closet door. She checked if the coast was clear, and it was, so they snuck outside of the closet. "I should get home now." Ichigo told Rukia.

"But…you have to get--."

"I'll be fine!" Ichigo interrupted her. "I've got enough blood in me."

"No you don't! My blood won't last you that long." Rukia tried to explain, but Ichigo clearly wasn't listening. She got angry and grabbed his arm to drag him to where she wanted him to go. But he tried to push away, and she ended up falling on top of him. Just then Byakuya and Renji turned the corner. "Ichigo! You have to—."

"I don't want to!" He shouted back at her, trying to push her head away.

"You have to! I command you to!"

"You can't command me to do anything! I won't do it!"

"I won't be able to survive if you don't!" Rukia exclaimed. This got Ichigo to stop struggling, and he blinked looking up at her.

"Really? What's going to happen to you?" Ichigo asked, his eyes full of concern, then he saw someone standing behind them. Rukia noticed Ichigo staring behind her, and she also looked behind to see Byakuya and Renji standing there, both had deadly auras surrounding them. Rukia quickly got off Ichigo and stood up straight. Ichigo also got up as well, and then noticed the top buttons of Rukia's shirt were undone, revealing the top of a black lace bra. Ichigo blushed and quickly nudged Rukia.

"R-Rukia, your shirt! T-he buttons are undone!" He whispered in her ear, feeling the deadly stares of Byakuya and Renji on him. Rukia heard him then quickly glanced down, blushed, and buttoned up her shirt as fast as she could. But it was too late…Renji and Byakuya saw _everything_.

"Rukia, who is this?" Byakuya asked, in a serious tone, the deadly aura still surrounding him.

"N-Nii-sama…this is um just some random stranger." Rukia lied. "Yes…and he got lost in our establishment, so I was showing him the way out--."

"What are you talking about Rukia? That's Ichigo, our friend from school." Renji interrupted.

"Is this true Rukia?" Byakuya asked.

"Yes." Rukia nodded in shame.

"Look this is my fault--." Ichigo started but was interrupted.

"I brought him in here, and I will take full responsibility." Rukia stated. "He is one of us. He just recently turned though."

"I see…" Byakuya gave Ichigo a serious stare.

"Rukia was teaching me about you guys, and she uh…she let me dr--." Ichigo was cut off by Rukia who elbowed him in the ribs. She nodded her head, at him, and he gave her a confused look.

"She let you what?" Renji asked.

"Uh…she let me dress the…uh scarecrow! Yeah that's it." Ichigo answered.

"...We don't have a scarecrow." Renji replied.

"O-oh really? Well you should get one…to you know…scare the crows." Ichigo mumbled.

"Seriously…what's going on here?" Renji asked. Rukia took a deep breath.

"Ok, this is what happened."

* * *

**A/N **

Hm, so how is it so far? Hehe Ichigo drank Rukia's blood. Sorry that scene wasn't as intense as Ichigo's dream scene…even though it was Ichigo's first time! (sobs) For some reason I couldn't change it, but well hope you still liked it. Reviews are appreciated. Bye nya~


	4. A meeting

Hey guys thanks for the reviews. I was going to update sooner, but I was obsessing over this anime called Gintama XD. Yeah, not a good excuse, but seriously it's an amazingly funny and just plain amazing anime. Well enough about that…I hope you enjoy the chapter.

**Chapter 4 A meeting**

"Ok, seriously…what's going on here?" Renji asked. Rukia took a deep breath.

"Ok, this is what happened."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After Rukia had finished explaining everything to Byakuya and Renji, they were all silent. Renji was in pure shock, and Byakuya was wearing his same cold, serious expression.

"Nii-sama?" Rukia looked at her brother, waiting for him to say something, but he just stood there silent.

"Wow…" Renji finally said, "I can't believe you…you let him…drink your blood!" Rukia looked away, not saying anything, while Ichigo just looked at Renji confused.

"Why? Is it bad that…I, uh you know…I mean is something going to happen to us?" Ichigo asked, and Renji just scoffed and ignored Ichigo. "Uh…hey man, I just asked you a question." He said to Renji, who continued ignoring him. Ichigo turned to Rukia, and asked, "What's his deal?"

"Well…Ichigo, it's just that—uh well…" Rukia flustered a slight blush on her face. Ichigo had never seen her like this before, so…awkward. He thought it was kind of cute, but then quickly shook the thought from his mind.

"A pure blood drinking blood from a dhampir is considered a sexually explicit ritual." Byakuya stated in an indifferent voice, which had undertones of anger evident.

"W-w-what?!" Ichigo gasped, his face turning completely red. He turned to see Rukia was avoiding his eyes, and was focusing her eyes on the floor. "B-B-but…w-we didn't—." Ichigo tried to defend him and Rukia's actions, but Byakuya cut him off.

"Rukia is well aware of the laws of society that we live by. Clearly this incident is not acceptable for a noble Kuchiki."

"Y-Yes Nii-sama. I will take full responsibilities for my actions." Rukia said.

"But wait! Rukia saved my life! She did it for my sake, so it's not her--." Ichigo tried to say, but Rukia put a hand on his arm and looked him in the eyes.

"Stop Ichigo. It was my idea, my responsibility." Rukia told him. Ichigo tried to protest, but no one wanted to listen to him.

"We will go to the council and decide what punishment is right for you." Byakuya announced, and started walking towards the council room.

"You should probably go home now." Renji said to Ichigo.

"No, he is one of us now, he must come as well." Byakuya explained. At that, they all headed to the council room.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Yoruichi-sama! Yoruichi-sama!" Soi Fon ran into Yoruichi's office, but she wasn't there. She looked everywhere, but couldn't find her. Well everywhere but one place. Urahara Kisuke's office. Soi Fon hated that man so much, and she couldn't understand why the lovely Yoruichi would enjoy being in the company of someone who was so lazy and care free. She knocked at Urahara's door, and Urahara answered it.

"Ah Soi Fon-san, you need something?" Urahara asked, wearing a relaxed smile while leaning on the door frame.

"Have you seen Yoruichi-sama?" Soi Fon glared at him and asked curtly.

"Hm…yeah she was just here."

"Where is she now?" Soi Fon asked, clearly irritated.

"Well, I think she said she was going to the council room." Urahara said. Soi Fon quickly raced away, without so much as a goodbye.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

The council room was much more elaborate than the other rooms in the house. The room was dim and all the windows were covered with royal purple colored curtains. The ceiling was high above with an elaborate silver chandelier hanging above a long rectangular table. At the table there was a group of important looking people sitting down, when Ichigo, Rukia, Byakuya, and Renji walked in. Byakuya cleared his throat and started talking. "Before we begin the meeting, I have an announcement to make." Everyone looked towards him to listen. "We have a new member of the family." He said, and Ichigo thought he heard some disgust in Byakuya's voice when he made the announcement. Everyone was looking at Ichigo now.

"Oh…uh hey, how's it going?" Ichigo said nervously. It was silent for a while, until the door burst open and in came Soi Fon.

"Yoruichi-sama!" She shouted, then looked around and noticed everyone there. She blushed and cleared her throat. "E-Excuse me…" She quickly took her seat at the table, and sat, clearly embarrassed. Another awkward silence ensued, until Shunsui Kyōraku started chuckling.

"Ah it so nice to be young…so innocent." He laughed. "I remember when we were like that, huh?" He nudged Jūshirō Ukitake who was sitting beside him.

"U-Ukitake-sensei?!" Ichigo gasped. "You're also a…vampire?" Ukitake smiled and nodded.

"We will have to decide on a partner for you, since you still go to school and other human places." Sajin Komamura stated his furry ears attentive. The others nodded in agreement.

"E-Excuse me…but there's something important I have to say." Rukia announced, and everyone turned towards her. "I let Ichigo…I allowed him to drink my blood." Rukia said, trying to hide her embarrassment, and sound as professional as possible. No one said anything for a while, and both Rukia and Ichigo felt their hearts loudly thumping as they gave each other anxious looks, awaiting a response.

"Well looks like you have a partner then." Yoruichi smiled, receiving some confused looks. "Rukia can be Ichigo's dhampir partner. Who knows him better right?"

"This is not a joke. It is a serious offence." Byakuya responded.

"Come on, their just kids, and Ichigo doesn't even know about our rules and laws." Yoruichi tried to reason, and then turned to Ichigo, "You see Ichigo, vampires can only drink human blood."

"Oh yeah Rukia mentioned that…uh what was it called? Suppliers?" Ichigo said.

"Yes, they are special human beings who choose to give their blood away. It's kind of like a blood drive. They might as well be donating to other human beings, well except for the fact that other human beings won't drink the blood." Ukitake explained.

"So…what makes them special then? I mean they just put their blood in a jar and send it to you right?" Ichigo asked.

"Well actually, you have to bite them to drink their blood. They're special because they know about us, and let us drink their blood." Ukitake replied.

"So what's the difference between drinking blood from a human or another vampire?" Ichigo questioned.

"_Ichigo_." Rukia said in a 'don't' tone.

"Well that's…" Ukitake trailed off.

"Basically it's like doing _it._" Kyoraku stated, bluntly.

"…What?" Ichigo gave him a weird look.

"You know what I mean? Sex." Kyoraku said in a relaxed tone.

"I-I know what you meant!" Ichigo blushed. "But _what_ is?"

"A vampire drinking blood from another vampire. To us vampires it's like that. Drinking from a human is…well it's kind of like a person drinking milk. It's something that we drink that just so happens to come from another living thing. Obviously it's not exactly the same, because human don't drink milk from a cow's utter, but you get my point." Kyoraku finished his explanation.

"I see…" Was Ichigo's response, as he looked down at the intricately decorated chrome carpet under his feet.

"Well then, it's getting late. Tomorrow we'll decide who'll be your drinking partner." Kyoraku laughed at his own joke.

"But I thought vampires don't sleep?" Ichigo asked, as he watched them leave.

"Pure bloods don't, but not all of us are pure bloods. Some of us aren't even vampires." Komamura stated.

"Yeah some of us need our sleep." Yoruichi yawned, as they were heading to the door. After Kyoraku, Ukitake, Yoruichi, Komamura, Byakuya and Soi Fon took their leave, only Ichigo, Rukia and Renji were left. They had decided that Ichigo would stay over because it may be dangerous for him to be with other humans unsupervised. Ichigo just finished calling up his family to tell them he was staying at a friend's house.

"So…where am I going to sleep? I still sleep don't I?" Ichigo asked the other two.

"Hm probably…for the first few weeks you'll be like a normal human being…for the most part." Rukia commented. "I guess you can sleep in my room. There's some extra space." Ichigo nodded in agreement, while Renji stared at both of them in horror.

"What else do you want with her?!" Renji shouted at Ichigo.

"Huh?" Ichigo gave Renji a confused look.

"You pretty much took her virginity, her pride as a vampire, and now you want to sleep with her?!" He looked at Ichigo in disgust.

"The hell are you talking about Renji? I'm not going to sleep _with _Rukia; I was going to sleep in her room!" Ichigo exclaimed, while blushing.

"The how'd you know I was talking about Rukia?" Renji gave Ichigo a shifty look. "I never said her name!"

"Hm…oh I don't know maybe it's because I don't know any other female vampires who I pretty much took the virginity of!" Ichigo said in a sarcastic tone.

"So you admit that you stole Rukia's virginity!" Renji gasped and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"You idiots! You're yelling too loud…about such a topic also…" Rukia said with a slight blush on her face. "Renji just go back to your room or whatever. And Ichigo come with me, my room's this way." She said, and then turned to leave. Ichigo made a face at Renji who glared at him, and then Ichigo followed Rukia. Leaving a grumbling Renji behind.

* * *

**A/N**

Haha poor Renji…He's such a pitiful guy…lately I've been really into the ByakuyaxRenji pairing…I might even add it into this story hehe…well unless you guys really don't want it. Well as always reviews are appreciated, and loved. Ok, Bye bye~


	5. A supplier

Hey, thanks so much for the reviews! I was planning to update on Monday so I'm really sorry about that. So, most of you were just meh about adding ByaRen into the story, so I won't add a lot of them, but maybe I'll occasionally toss tiny hints here and there. I mean really tiny hints, or as I like to call them, squinty hintys, because if you squint you can see the love. But if you don't bother squinting, you won't see anything…hope that satisfies most people. Oh and hope you enjoy the chapter as well.

**Chapter 5 A supplier**

"So you admit that you stole Rukia's virginity!" Renji gasped.

"You idiots! You're yelling too loud…about such a topic also…" Rukia said with a slight blush on her face. "Renji just go back to your room or whatever. And Ichigo come with me, my room's this way." She said, and then turned to leave. Ichigo made a face at Renji who glared at him, and then Ichigo followed Rukia. Leaving a grumbling Renji behind.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Yoruichi-sama!" Soi Fon shouted to Yoruichi after they had left the council room.

"Oh Soi Fon, what's up?" Yoruichi smiled.

"Um…I-I was wondering if…" Soi Fon stuttered, and looked down in embarrassment.

"Ah Kisuke." Yoruichi smiled at her old friend who came up to them. Soi Fon sighed, and gave him a dirty look.

"Ah sorry am I interrupting something?" He asked, with his usual relaxed demeanor. Yoruichi looked to Soi Fon, and Soi Fon nodded, that he was.

"Actually Yoruichi and I am busy with something." Soi Fon said.

"Oh really? Ok then I won't take up your time. Well here are those papers you wanted Yoruichi-san."

"Oh thanks. I'll come to your office later." Yoruichi said and Urahara nodded, and bid them both good byes.

"Yoruichi-sama…why do you like that man?" Soi Fon asked.

"Well why shouldn't I?" Yoruichi asked, with a composed expression.

"_This is worse than I thought! I even sent her that detailed report of his daily habits and she still accepts him!" _Soi Fon thought to herself in distress.

"Well what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" Yoruichi asked. "You're not jealous are you?" Soi Fon's heart almost stopped. "I thought you said you didn't like Kisuke?" Yoruichi asked.

"I-It's not like that." Soi Fon sighed. "Yoruichi-sama…do you, um want to go out for coffee sometime?"

"Oh is that all? Sure. I'll even bring Kisuke with me." Yoruichi smirked and winked at Soi Fon, then left.

"It's hopeless…" Soi Fon sighed to herself.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Rukia's room was quite big, as Ichigo was now noticing since the lights were on. She had a huge four post bed, with a canopy draping down. On the other side of the room, was the seating area, with the two single white sofas and a small coffee table.

"Why do you have such a big room Rukia? You vampire royalty or something?" Ichigo asked, while looking around.

"Something like that…" Rukia responded. "So, you want to sleep on the sofa or what?"

"Is there another option?"

"Yeah, I guess you're too big to sleep on the sofa. Ok you sleep on my bed." Rukia concluded.

"Where are you going to sleep then?"

"I'll sleep on the couch." Rukia said, as if this was obvious.

"Hm, ok then."

"What? That's all? You don't even feel bad for forcing me to sleep on the couch you ungrateful fool!" Rukia shouted and pointed an accusatory finger at Ichigo.

"What the hell are you getting mad for now? You're the one who made the suggestion in the first place!" Ichigo replied.

"Yeah because I thought you'd be a big enough person to say no!"

"Well I am too big for the couches, so I don't think I need to be any bigger than that!" Ichigo said, and then let out a sharp sigh, as he sat on one of the couches running a hand through his hair. "I thought you said you had space…"

"Well I lied. Did you really want to sleep in Renji's room? You'd probably have to sleep with one eye open, or he'll murder you in your sleep." Rukia pointed out.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Ichigo considered this, then noticed Rukia had left. "Rukia?" He looked around the big room, but couldn't find her anywhere. "Rukia!"

"What? What's wrong?" Rukia came out of a door to Ichigo's right, surprising him.

"Ah no…nothing, you just disappeared so…" Ichigo mumbled.

"I was changing into my pajamas." Rukia said. She had changed from her school uniform to her pajamas, which were a matching plaid yellow shirt and pants.

"Well what am I supposed to wear?" Ichigo asked.

"The clothes on your back." Rukia replied with a smirk.

"Oh, well if that's how it is…" Ichigo said, and started unbuttoning his shirt.

"W-What are you doing?" Rukia was looking at him suspiciously.

"Taking off my shirt." Ichigo said nonchalantly.

"…Why?!"

"Why? Well because I feel like it…does there have to be a reason?" While Ichigo was saying this, Rukia couldn't help but stare at his now shirtless chest.

"_Why am I freaking out so much?"_ Rukia thought to herself. "_It's not like I haven't seen him shirtless before, like when we went to the beach and stuff, but it just seems different than usual…When did Ichigo start looking like that?! Why are his pants hanging off his body so perfectly? Mmm if only they were a bit lower than—ah! What am I saying?!" _Rukia mentally slapped herself twice for thinking such things.

"Hello, are you even listening to me?" Ichigo waved a hand in front of Rukia's zoned out face. Rukia snapped out of it, to see Ichigo giving her a strange look. "Jeez…some of us don't have fancy silk pajamas!" Ichigo muttered.

"T-These aren't silk, they're cotton!" Rukia quickly said, "Besides even if for some strange reason I had silk pajamas in your size, you'd just look weird in them." Rukia explained.

"How do you know that huh? You've never seen me in silk pajamas. I could look good!" Ichigo defended. Rukia just rolled her eyes. "Are you calling me _ugly_?" Ichigo gasped.

"Hm…of course not." Rukia smirked then turned around and walked towards a nearby shelf. She opened it and took out a rolled up sleeping bag.

"So I guess I have to sleep in that…" Ichigo sighed, and gestured towards the sleeping bag.

"Of course not! I'm not letting you sleep in my special collectors' version Chappy sleeping bag. You sleep in my bed, and I'll sleep in this." Rukia said.

"Hm…are you sure, because I can…" Ichigo started to say, but then stopped, when he noticed Rukia already wrapped in the Chappy sleeping bag and fast asleep. Ichigo shook his head and sighed. He lifted up the wrapped up Rukia, and placed her on one side of her huge bed. Then he crawled onto the other side of the bed. "This should be fine." He figured, and picked up a blue blanket to cover himself with. He was about to close his eyes, when he heard Rukia stir in her sleep. He turned to see her neck was bare, revealing the bite mark Ichigo had left earlier. Ichigo slowly reached out, and gingerly touched the mark. She moaned a bit, and Ichigo quickly retracted his hand. Rukia didn't wake up though. Ichigo sighed heavily as he tried to contemplate the day's events. He touched the tip of his fangs He couldn't help but wonder how something that was supposedly so wrong felt so right. How something so sinful felt so amazing.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

The next morning, Renji dashed into Rukia's room without knocking on the door and almost fell over when he saw Rukia, wrapped in her Chappy sleeping bag, her head resting on Ichigo's bare chest. Ichigo had his arms wrapped around Rukia, and his chin resting on her head. They looked like two pieces of a puzzle that fit perfectly together.

"Hey!" He yelled, in an attempt to wake them up. He jumped on the bed, and started bouncing up and down. Ichigo and Rukia slowly opened their eyes and groaned a bit.

"Renji…stop making so much noise." Rukia sighed, and closed her eyes, attempting to fall back into slumber.

"Yeah, we're trying to sleep." Ichigo grumbled and snuggled closer to Rukia. Renji was about to lay an egg. (Yes that's right…an egg!)

"You idiots wake up! They found a supplier for Ichigo!" He shouted in their ears.

"They did?!" Ichigo and Rukia gasped simultaneously and sat up in the bed.

"Who is it?" Rukia rubbed her eyes.

"I don't know yet…Byakuya-san said you'll find out when you get to the council room." Renji explained.

"Ehhhh…"

"What 'ehh?' Get up!" Renji shouted. "And put a shirt on Ichigo…for all our sakes." He sighed.

"Fine, then can I borrow one of yours Renji?" Ichigo asked, while rubbing his head.

"Hmm…I don't know…maybe if you ask nicely." Renji grinned.

"Oh come on…ugh fine. May I please borrow a shirt from you oh dear great Renji-sama?" Ichigo begged, sarcastically.

"No! Say it like you mean it!" Renji exclaimed, and took out a whip.

"…Where'd he get that from?" Ichigo asked in shock.

"I don't know, but I'm taking pictures of this." Rukia beamed, and reached into her nightstand drawer to get her camera. Ichigo just sweat dropped.

"Ok seriously dude…just give me a shirt." Ichigo said to Renji.

"Fine." Renji gave in.

"No wait!" Rukia said. "Just one picture for the fans?" She pleaded. Ichigo and Renji just ignored her and left. "Meh fine…" She grumbled.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

When Rukia, Ichigo, and Renji got to the council room, there was a few people inside. Not as many people as yesterday though. Komamura, Soi Fon, and Kyoraku weren't there. They all turned around when they saw Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia come in.

"Oh Good morning." Yoruichi greeted. "Renji probably already told you, we found you a supplier." She said the last part a bit reluctantly. "Here she is." A girl with long auburn hair stepped forward.

"Inoue?!"

* * *

**A/N**

Oh no! Why's Orihime there? Ichigo doesn't want her blood! He only wants Rukia's! Ha ha just kidding…well we all know I'm right though. Well anyways reviews are my inspiration and motivation, so review ne? Ok bye bon!


	6. A Decision

Hey everyone thanks for the reviews! I loved all the Orihime hate. It's made me laugh and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. If you couldn't already guess, I'm not an Orihime fan no offense to those who like her. I like almost all the girls in bleach or can at least tolerate them except for her! Sorry for being a hater, I try not to be. Oh yeah and I just saw the new Bleach movie, Fade to Black with subs. It was pretty good, maybe that's just because I'm an IchiRuki lover. Well anyways enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 6 A decision**

When Rukia, Ichigo, and Renji got to the council room, there were a few people inside. Not as many people as yesterday though. Komamura, Soi Fon, and Kyoraku weren't there. They all turned around when they saw Ichigo, Renji, and Rukia come in.

"Oh Good morning." Yoruichi greeted. "Renji probably already told you, we found you a supplier." She said the last part a bit reluctantly. "Here she is." A girl with long auburn hair stepped forward.

"Inoue?!"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hi Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime greeted with a smile on her face.

"Inoue? What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked.

"Well I came for the job interview!" She said brightly.

"J-Job interview?" Ichigo, Rukia and Renji all said at the same time in confusion.

"This girl's crazy. Maybe if we just put her to sleep and leave her outside, she'll wake up and go home?" Renji whispered to Rukia and Ichigo.

"You idiot!" Rukia slapped Renji over the head. "Inoue's not crazy…she's…she's just confused. Yeah that's it." Rukia figured, and then turned to Orihime. "Inoue, well um, how exactly did you find out about this…job?"

"How? Well there were tons of flyers all over town about it." Orihime answered and showed them a flyer. It read: Blood needed! ASAP. Please call the number below, or go to our website: .

"What the hell?! Flyers? Why's there a website? And what's with the 'nuisance' part?" Ichigo turned to Yoruichi.

"Don't look at me. It was all Byakuya's idea." Yoruichi explained.

"N-Nii-sama…" Rukia shook her head shamefully.

"I found the website." Renji told them, and showed it to them on his laptop. It had a picture of a shirtless Ichigo holding a rose in the background. It had writing in big words that said: Want to give blood to this guy? We know you do!

"Pfft…that's a uh, a good picture of you Ichigo…" Rukia snickered.

"Shut up! Your brother's the one who did all this! I can just imagine him sitting in his room at night, photoshopping pictures of me…with that smug look on his face…" Ichigo grumbled. "Aggh! It pisses me off!"

"Calm down Ichigo. For now, you should probably go home and not speak of this to anyone Orihime." Yoruichi told her.

"Ehh? Ah ok…but what exactly is going on? Did I get the supplier job?" Orihime asked.

"We'll contact you later." Yoruichi smiled, and showed her the way out.

"So now what?" Ichigo asked. "I mean what's gonna' happen with this 'supplier' issue?"

"I don't know. I assume Nii-sama will keep searching until he finds another supplier." Rukia figured. Just then Yoruichi came in with a smile on her face.

"So it's settled then." She told them.

"What is?"

"Rukia will be Ichigo's dhampir partner." Yoruichi exclaimed. "You see, I made a deal with Byakuya. If he doesn't find a supplier by this morning, Rukia can be Ichigo's partner….that is until a suitable supplier is found."

"What?!" Renji gasped.

"Now Renji, go inform Byakuya of my win. Take pictures too, I want to see his mad little face when he finds out the truth." Yoruichi snickered and handed Renji a camera.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"_I can't believe this is happening…Rukia…being Ichigo's partner._" Renji thought to himself as he headed to Byakuya's room. He knocked at the door lightly. "It's me sir." Renji said through the door.

"Come in." Byakuya's voice came from inside. Renji came in and saw Byakuya sitting at his desk, writing something.

"Uh sir…Yoruichi-san wanted me to inform you that she has won the bet. Rukia will now be Kurosaki Ichigo's dhampir partner." Renji said.

"I see." Byakuya responded, and then noticed Renji take a picture of him. "What are you doing?"

"Yoruichi-san told me to take pictures of your reaction to the news." Renji said, with an anxious look on his face, as if Byakuya were a ticking time bomb that could go off any second. Byakuya didn't say anything though; he just stared at the camera. He stood up from behind his desk, and walked right up to Renji.

"S-Sir?" Renji backed away a bit. Byakuya kept moving towards him, until Renji was against the wall. Byakuya stared right at Renji, making the red head even more nervous. Then Byakuya turned around and walked back to his desk and sat down, as if nothing ever happened. Renji just stood there blinking, as confused as ever, and just realized he was holding his breath. He quickly took deep breaths outwards.

"_W-What was that?" _Renji thought to himself and clutched his chest. Then he looked down and realized what had happened. "_Ah…he took the camera…"_

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"I don't get it…" Ichigo said, as he and Rukia were walking through one of the many hallways in the building. "How does having a dhampir partner substitute for a supplier. Does that mean now I can drink your blood, and it would be considered ok?"

"Well, having a dhampir partner isn't meant to be a substitute, for a supplier. For now, you have to settle with this." Rukia handed Ichigo a red juice box that said AB- in big white cartoon letters.

"What's this?" Ichigo took the box.

"Blood substitute." Rukia said. "Pure bloods drink it when they need blood, but can't get to a supplier or don't have one."

"Oh…so what's it taste like? Is it good?" Ichigo asked.

"How should I know? You know I don't drink blood…"

"Ah right…" Ichigo put the juice box in his pocket for later as they entered Rukia's room. "So…now what happens? Can I go home?"

"Sure. Just wait though I got to go pack my stuff." Rukia said, and then started rifling through her closet.

"Huh?" Ichigo gave Rukia a confused look. "What're you talking about?"

"Well I got to bring stuff with me, who knows when the next time I'll be back is." Rukia explained, then started folding a blue shirt and packing it in her Chappy suitcase.

"Why? You going somewhere?"

"Obviously, I'm going to stay at your house." Rukia replied nonchalantly.

"What?! Whoa whoa whoa…hold it right there!" Ichigo exclaimed and put his hands up.

"Hold what, where?" Rukia asked.

"What do you mean you're staying at my house?!" Ichigo asked in exasperation.

"Well I'm your dhampir partner so…"

"I thought that just meant that we would go to the school together or something…"

"Ichigo…" Rukia sighed and shook her head. "Poor, naïve Ichigo…I pity your foolishness"

"I don't need you pity! Why are you acting like you're so high and mighty? You're pissing me off." Ichigo gave her an annoyed look. "No one actually explained to me what's going to happen with this partner thing…"

"Well basically, I'm going to be with you all the time. At school, at home, wherever."

"But why?" Ichigo asked, and slumped into one of Rukia's small white couches.

"In case you have any urges or anything." Rukia told him in a matter of fact tone, and took a seat in the other couch.

"You're making me sound like some stupid kid going through puberty or something…"

"Well it kind of is like that. You're going through vampire puberty." Rukia held back a chuckle as she said it, making Ichigo roll his eyes. "Look, it's not like this is going to be a dream come true for me either…following you around everywhere…ahh its going to be such a pain!" Rukia groaning really loud, while excitedly packing her things, and smiling.

"…You don't look unhappy about this at all!" Ichigo sighed.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After Rukia had finished packing, she and Ichigo were about to leave the vampire house. They were at the front gates ready to depart.

"I'm gonna miss you guys." Renji sighed.

"Relax...you're going to see us at school anyways." Ichigo said.

"I'm not talking about you, idiot!" Renji shouted.

"Well you did say "guys." You know as in plural?" Ichigo muttered.

"It's like Ichigo said, we'll see you at school, and it's not like you can't come over to Ichigo's house." Rukia explained, and Renji gave a small smile.

"Don't just invite people to my house like it's your own house!" Ichigo complained, and then ran a hand through his hair. "Well it's not like you can't come over…or whatever." He muttered and looked away.

"And if you feel lonely…Nii-sama is still here!" Rukia exclaimed, with a bright smile, but then it faded.

"Ha ha yeah…right." Renji looked at the floor.

"Sorry…that wasn't the best suggestion." Rukia said and looked down as well. Ichigo just kept silent, not quite knowing what to say.

"W-Why's it getting all depressing?" Renji forced a smile. "This is good for you guys! So go on you idiots! I'll be waiting here when you mess up!" He pushed them forward still wearing a smile.

"Y-Yeah." Rukia said, and gave Renji a sad look, but then quickly changed it to a smile. "You better come over! Every day ok?"

"Yeah." Renji smiled, this time it was a genuine one. Ichigo watched the two, and grinned…just a little bit.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hey Rukia…" Ichigo said, while carrying one of Rukia's suitcases. They were a few blocks away from the Kurosaki residence.

"Hm?"

"What am I supposed to tell my family?"

"About what?" Rukia asked.

"About you! I can't just say 'oh yeah I just found out I'm a vampire and this person has to stay with me all the time, in case I have urges to drink blood due to vampire puberty! Ok good night!'" Ichigo said.

"I guess you're right. Not to worry! I'll take care of it." Rukia gave Ichigo a thumbs up.

"Somehow I feel even more unsure now…" Ichigo sighed

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"They took everything! Even my…little…my dear Johnny! Oh how I miss him so!" Rukia sobbed dramatically. Isshin and Yuzu were in tears, and Karin looked away and shook her head like Rukia's story was just so heartbreaking.

"Of course you can stay here Rukia-chan!!" Isshin explained while bawling his eyes out. Rukia quickly gave Ichigo another thumbs up.

"Don't give away your cover so easily idiot…" Ichigo grumbled.

"Rukia nee-chan, are you hungry? I'm making dinner now!" Yuzu exclaimed while wiping a tear from her eye.

"You're too kind!" Rukia smiled gratefully.

"C'mon, let's put your stuff upstairs." Ichigo told Rukia, and then picked up her bags and headed upstairs.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"I can't believe they bought that…" Ichigo sighed. "And who the hell is Johnny?"

"Of course they bought it! I'm a great actress! You know I was asked to be the lead role in the school play." Rukia bragged.

"Yeah yeah…but who's Johnny?" Ichigo questioned.

"It doesn't matter. So where am I sleeping?" Rukia asked, and then lay down on Ichigo's bed.

"Well definitely not there." Ichigo responded and pointed to his bed. "Why can't you just tell me who Johnny is?"

"Why do you care so much?" Rukia stood up and asked.

"Well…it's not that I care…" Ichigo mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

"Well ok then." Rukia said, giving him a confused look.

"Fine then." Ichigo replied.

"Great!"

"Excellent!"

"Wonderful!"

"Marvelous!" Ichigo shouted in Rukia's face, and then suddenly felt a vibration go over his whole body. His heart started thumping wildly. Then he caught a glimpse of Rukia's neck and the vibrations grew more intense. They were drawing him towards her. He needed it. Her blood.

* * *

**A/N**

Oh my Ichigo…you and your vampire puberty! Haha anyways poor Renji, I wanted to make a sad (kind of) parting scene since he and Rukia had been living together since they were little and this is the first time they weren't going to. I guess I should have explained that in the chapter…oh well! Yeah I know I was going to make this story more serious, but somehow this chapter happened...well I'll try and be more serious in future chapters, but the way thanks for the advice **lovemydogs82. **Reviews are greatly appreciated! Bye-um I can't think of anything else to end my byes with!


	7. A desire

Hey, thanks for the lovely reviews. I just realized that the name of the website for Ichigo's supplier didn't show up in the last chapter. Well it was called: blood needed for nuisance. com. That's why Ichigo was asking what the nuisance part was. So I was trying to be extremely subtle about the ByaRen stuff, but I think I failed. Oh yeah and did anyone read the latest chapter of bleach? Finally Ichigo and Rukia reunited! (Sorry if that was a spoiler to anyone XD)

**Chapter 7 A desire**

"Marvelous!" Ichigo shouted in Rukia's face, and then suddenly felt a vibration go over his whole body. His heart started thumping wildly. Then he caught a glimpse of Rukia's neck and the vibrations grew more intense. They were drawing him towards her. He needed it. Her blood.

"I-Ichigo!" Rukia gasped as Ichigo pushed her onto his bed, grabbing her wrists to hold her down. He used his teeth to rip off the top buttons of Rukia's shirt, and then lunged in for a bite. But before he could, Rukia kicked him in the stomach, causing Ichigo to fall over on to the floor. She bent down next to him, and reached into his pocket to get the blood juice box he had put in their earlier. Ichigo made a slight moaning sound, and Rukia blushed, since she felt like she was violating him or something. Nevertheless, she got the juice box out and quickly stuck the straw in and forced it in Ichigo's mouth. He drank it, and then spit it out.

"God this tastes awful!" Ichigo whined.

"S-shut up and drink it!" Rukia replied in an angry tone still a bit shaken from what just happened. Ichigo gave her a grumpy look, but finished the juice box.

"Well that was one of the most disgusting things I've ever drank in my life!" Ichigo announced and threw the juice box in the trash can. He noticed Rukia putting a scarf on. "Hey…I uh…I'm sorry about…what just happened there. I just--."

"Yeah I know." Rukia said. "It wasn't your fault…I was the one who let my guard down. You couldn't help it. But now you get what I'm saying right? What if it wasn't me who was here with you? You could have seriously hurt someone."

"But…I thought its ok to drink human's blood." Ichigo wondered.

"Yeah it is…if they let you. It's the same for everyone; you could even kill another pure blood if you forcefully drink their blood." Rukia explained.

"Does that mean I could hurt you?" Ichigo asked quickly.

"Well yes, there's always that risk. But obviously I'm much too powerful to get done in by a vampire still going through puberty!" Rukia mocked. Ichigo still gave her a serious look. "I'm telling you, I'm going to be fine Ichigo! You can't hurt me. You should be more worried about yourself. For first timers, different blood types tend to have different effects on the vampires who drink them so just be careful with those juice boxes."

"Hm, well I feel fine." Ichigo said, and stretched his arms out.

"For now…just be on guard, the effects can kick in at anytime." Rukia said. Ichigo nodded.

"Dinnertime!" The heard Yuzu call from downstairs.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Byakuya walked at a quicker pace than normal, through one of the many hallways in the vampire establishment. He was so concerned with his destination, that he barely noticed Renji walking right there and almost crashed into the red haired man.

"Ah Byakuya-san! Sorry I didn't see you there." Renji bowed.

"I was at fault for not paying attention." Byakuya said in his cool and composed way, he was about to leave, but then stopped and asked Renji, "Have you seen Rukia?"

"She left a few hours ago. To be Kurosaki Ichigo's dhampir partner." Renji explained.

"Right. Very well." Byakuya replied, and then placed a small gift wrapped box he was holding into his jacket pocket in a calm manner.

"Byakuya-san…did you want to say good bye to Rukia?" Renji asked nervously.

"It's not important now." Byakuya said coldly, and then walked away. Renji watched Byakuya walk off, and tilted his head sideways and sighed.

"Byakuya-san…"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

At dinner Yuzu was serving some rice for herself and practically beaming.

"What are you so happy about?" Ichigo asked his sister.

"I'm really excited for our school trip tomorrow!" Yuzu smiled.

"Oh…that's tomorrow? Where are you guys going again?"

"We're going to a hot springs." Karin said.

"A hot springs?!" Isshin gasped. "I will not have my precious daughters revealing everything to little boys with their hormones raging!"

"Calm down Oyaji…no one said it was a mixed bath." Ichigo sighed, and then turned to Karin and Yuzu. "It isn't right?"

"No! Mou…Otou-san and Nii-chan too." Yuzu said, and Rukia giggled.

"I know just how you feel." Rukia smiled at Karin and Yuzu.

"Eh? You have overprotective family members Rukia nee-chan?"

"Yes, my older brother actually." Rukia told them.

"You have an older brother too?" Karin asked.

"Yeah, and he's always not letting me do things, because he thinks they're too dangerous." Rukia explained. She had a smile on her face while saying this, but Ichigo thought she had a sad look in her eyes.

"_Ah…that's right, Byakuya didn't even come to say good bye to Rukia…she'll see Renji at school, but she won't be able to see Byakuya." _Ichigo thought to himself.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After dinner, Ichigo was in his room doing his homework and sipping some AB-, when Rukia came in and opened his closet doors. She then proceeded to climb in.

"What're you doing in there?" He asked her.

"I'm going to sleep here. This way I can keep watch on you all the time." Rukia said.

"Whatever."Ichigo murmured, then picked up the blood substitute juice box. "By the way, is this stuff really human blood? If it is…I'm not looking forward to it."

"Well its probably how all blood tastes." Rukia figured.

"You're blood didn't taste like this." Ichigo said, without thinking. Rukia blushed, not knowing if that was a compliment or not.

"W-Well…what did mine taste like?" Rukia asked, while avoiding Ichigo's eyes.

"Your what?"

"My blood."

"Oh! Well…um it was…" Ichigo mumbled while ruffling through his hair with his hand. "Ah look at the time! We got school tomorrow. G' Night." Ichigo said and jumped into his bed, throwing the covers over his head. Rukia just stood there, and sighed. Then she turned off the light and went into the closet to sleep.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ichi-pyon! Ichi-pyon!" A voice kept pestering the sleeping Ichigo. He slowly opened his eyes to see Rukia on top of him…and she was wearing a bunny costume. No not those perverted ones…a full on mascot-like costume with just her face sticking out. She was pink and fluffy and had adorable little whiskers painted on to her small face.

"W-What the hell?!" Ichigo gasped. Rabbit Rukia climbed off him, and pulled him up. "W-w-what's going on here?! Rukia? What the hell are you wearing?!" Ichigo freaked out.

"Calm down-pyon!" Rabbit Rukia giggled. "You're so cute when you're in a panic, pyon~"

"Ok seriously! What's going on here?!"

"Well obviously this is a dream silly willy pants!" Rabbit Rukia grabbed on to Ichigo's arm. "You're so firm pyon! Ruki-pyon loves that about Ichi-pyon." Rabbit Rukia rubbed her fuzzy head on Ichigo's chest.

"W-w-w-what the hell?! S-s-stop i-it!" Ichigo blushed and tried to push Rabbit Rukia away, but she kept holding on to him. "R-Rukia! S-stop it! I-I said stop it! What kind of bunny are you?!" He yelled out, and realized he was back in his own bed, and Rukia was staring straight at him.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So…what exactly were you dreaming about?" Rukia asked. It was about 4 in the morning, and they were both sitting on Ichigo's bed.

"Uh…w-well…I think its better I don't tell you." Ichigo answered.

"I see. Well it might have been a reaction to the AB-. Strange dreams…" Rukia figured.

"Wow Rukia, you even look beautiful when you just wake up in the morning." Ichigo suddenly said.

"W-what?!" Rukia blushed. "W-what are you saying you fool?!"

"No I'm serious." He said, then lifted her chin up and looked into her big dark eyes. "You really are the most gorgeous girl in the world." He said, in a serious tone, still looking into her eyes. Rukia was in shock. He sounded so sincere, but why was he suddenly saying this stuff? Rukia wondered. The she noticed he was moving in, expecting a kiss, so she quickly pushed him away and turned around.

"I-Ichigo! W-What's wrong with you?!" Rukia asked.

"Nothing at all. I'm just expressing my pent up emotions." He explained in a deep voice, then wrapped his arms around Rukia's waist from behind, and blew in her ear ever so softly, making Rukia become stiffer. "Oh come on now…it's not like you don't love me." Ichigo whispered in Rukia ear. Rukia didn't know how to respond to that. She could hear the beating of her own heart speed up, and Ichigo breathing in her ear, his hot breath tickled her skin. Ichigo turned Rukia around so she was facing him, and then he brushed a single strand of hair away from her face. He had an intense look on his face as he moved in closer until his lips were almost touching hers. "You won't stop me?" He asked. Rukia gulped.

"Y-You can't…Ichigo…p-please don't." Rukia had a confused almost painful look on her face, like she was forcing herself to say those words. Ichigo looked regretful, but backed away, just when Rukia realized how much she wanted to kiss him at that moment. She suddenly lost her control, and before she knew it Rukia pushed Ichigo down and wrapped her arms around Ichigo's neck, their mouths pressed together.

"Can I?" Ichigo asked through slight breaths.

"No…we're not supposed to…" Rukia tried to say, but found herself pulling off her scarf and unbuttoning her shirt. Ichigo grabbed her by the waist, and sunk his teeth into her neck. Rukia moaned as she fell backwards onto the bed, and Ichigo on top of her. He retracted his fangs and began to lick at the bloodied wound his bite left on Rukia's neck. Rukia shivered as Ichigo's warm tongue stung her blood stained skin.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

The next morning, Rukia woke up to find herself in the bed she made for herself in Ichigo's closet. "_W-what happened?"_ Rukia thought to herself as she sat up. _"Was that all a dream?" _She wondered, then felt the fresh mark from where Ichigo had bitten her. "_No…it wasn't! I can't believe we did it again! And I-I kissed him too!"_ She panicked and blushed at the same time. She swung open the closet door to see Ichigo sleeping soundly in his bed as if nothing had ever happened. She walked up to him to wake him, but before she could his eyes opened slowly.

"Rukia…? That you?" Ichigo asked, drowsily.

"Y-Yeah…can you get up? We need to talk." Rukia said. Ichigo slowly sat up in his bed and yawned.

"What wrong?" He asked.

"About last night…"

Hm? Last night? What about it?" Ichigo asked, while running a hand through his messy orange hair.

"Well…I mean don't you remember what happened?"

"Uhh well I did some homework, you decided to sleep in the closet, and then that was it right?" Ichigo asked giving Rukia a puzzled look.

"You're saying you don't remember anything else?" Rukia asked.

"Hm nope not really…" Ichigo said. "Why? Did I miss something?" Rukia frowned and absent mindedly touched the bite mark on her neck. "Wait…d-did I…did I…" Ichigo stuttered, and Rukia nodded that he did. "Oh man…but how come I don't remember anything?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Rukia replied.

"Maybe if you tell me what exactly happened, I'll remember something." Ichigo suggested.

"…I'd rather not." Rukia tried to hide a blush, and Ichigo just gave her a confused look. "I think we should go talk to Urahara about this…" Rukia said.

"Huh? Who's—." Ichigo was about to ask, but Rukia quickly darted out of the room. He scratched his head in confusion, then shrugged it off, and went to get ready for school.

* * *

**A/N**

Rukia in a bunny costume? So much for making this story serious…but in my defense it was Ichigo's dream! Hehe, as you know (and if you didn't) reviews keep me happy and writing, so review! (please?) Ok…bye-pyon~


	8. A school day

Hey, thanks for the reviews everyone! I meant to update last week, but I was really busy, so I apologize. Well hope you enjoy the chapter.

**Chapter 8 A school day**

"Maybe if you tell me what exactly happened, I'll remember something." Ichigo suggested.

"…I'd rather not." Rukia tried to hide a blush, and Ichigo just gave her a confused look. "I think we should go talk to Urahara about this…" Rukia said.

"Huh? Who's—." Ichigo was about to ask, but Rukia quickly darted out of the room. He scratched his head in confusion, then shrugged it off, and went to get ready for school.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ichigo!!" Keigo shouted as he ran towards Ichigo with open arms. Ichigo stepped to the side and Keigo smashed into the wall.

"Morning Keigo." Ichigo said and then walked into the classroom with Rukia right behind him.

"Ah good morning Ichigo." Mizuiro said from his seat and waved.

"Morning Mizuiro." Ichigo walked up to his friend and greeted him.

"Oh Kuchiki-san! Good morning to you too." Mizuiro smiled at Rukia pleasantly.

"Good morning." Rukia smiled back.

"So you guys walked to school together?" Mizuiro grinned. "How nice that must mean you're finally dating—."

"Nooo!!!" Keigo ran into the classroom and straight towards them. "Ichigo you traitor! Didn't we make a promise to remain virgins until we found wives?!!" He cried dramatically.

"Who made a promise like that? Besides Rukia and me aren't--."

"Mizuiro's already a cheapskate with all his older women and now you too Ichigo!?" Keigo exclaimed. "Fine it'll just be Chad and me!" He shouted and stood next to Chad who just came into the room.

"What's going on?" Chad asked with a straight face.

"You don't want to know…" Ichigo sighed. Just then Renji walked in, and his face lit up when he saw Rukia.

"Rukia!" He said excitedly and ran up to her with a big smile on his face. Then everyone started staring at him, causing him to blush and clear his throat while attempting to deflect attention from himself.

"Jeez it hasn't even been a whole day yet…you don't have to look like a lost puppy that's just been reunited with his owner or something…" Ichigo told him dryly.

"A whole day since what?" Mizuiro asked curiously.

"Uh nothing…" Ichigo said.

"Anyways is Asano-san going to be ok?" Rukia asked quickly to change the subject. They all looked at Keigo who was in the corner ripping up pages of a book.

"Sure he will." Mizuiro barely gave Keigo a glance as he said this.

"Maybe he needs a girlfriend." Chad suggested. Everyone blinked and stared at Chad. They were all shocked that Chad would come up with such a thing.

"Good idea!" Rukia smiled.

"Hmm…how about Tatsuki?" Ichigo said nonchalantly, as Tatsuki walked in the room with Orihime behind her.

"Yeah…I could see that happening!" Rukia agreed enthusiastically.

"I agree." Mizuiro smiled. Ichigo almost fell off his chair.

"Are they serious? Keigo and Tatsuki?" Ichigo asked Chad.

"It seems like it." Chad replied. Ukitake, who was their teacher, came in and everyone started heading back to their seats. "Now class, if you would all take your seats." Ukitake said to the class.

"Hai Sensei~" Almost all the girls in class swooned.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After class was finished, and everyone had left Rukia went up to Ukitake.

"Ano, Ukitake sensei, may I ask you something?" Rukia asked.

"Sure Rukia-chan, what is it?" The white haired man asked politely.

"Well it's about the…" Rukia looked around to see if anyone was listening, but nobody was around. "The blood substitute. I think it may have had some…strange affect on Ichigo." She explained.

"'Hm, well what kind of affects? It varies with different people." Ukitake explained, and then noticed Rukia's uncomfortable expression. "Well perhaps I'm not the best person to speak with about this. Have you tried talking to Urahara-san?"

"I was going to tell him about this after school. I just wanted to inform you first." Rukia told him.

"Well thank you for doing so. I like to be kept in the loop." He smiled, and Rukia giggled.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After Rukia exited the classroom, Ichigo, Renji, Keigo, Chad, and Mizuiro were all standing outside waiting, pretending they didn't just have their ears pressed to the door a few moments ago.

"Y-you guys? What are you doing out here?" She asked, wearing a surprised expression.

"Uh nothing…just loitering…" Ichigo said, while looking away uncomfortably.

"Yup! Just loitering…well we'll be on our way now!" Keigo announced, and as they walked away, Mizuiro mumbled something like, "I bet Asano-san doesn't even know what loitering means…"

Rukia just blinked and stared at them. "Wait!" She shouted after them, and they all stopped and looked back at her. "Don't we have the same class? Let's walk together." She smiled, and they all agreed nervously.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

When they went to their next class which was physical education, they saw a young man, who was not their usual P.E. teacher. He had colorful feathers on his right eyelashes and eyebrow, had jaw-length dark silky hair and shiny skin. He was wearing white slim fitting pants and a lilac long sleeved v-neck. Everyone looked at the strange man and blinked in confusion.

"Hello students! I'm Ayasegawa Yumichika. You can just call me Yumi-sensei~" Yumichika explained to the students.

"Ano…excuse me Yumi-sensei, but what happened to our previous P.E. teacher?" One of the female students asked.

"Ah well he wasn't beautiful enough for the job so he was fired." Yumichika flipped his hair in a showy display.

"What does being beautiful enough have to do with teaching a P.E. class?" Tatsuki asked.

"You idiot…that's not the reason he was fired." Another man, this one bald, said as he walked up beside Yumichika. "He got fired because he raped some chick or something…"

"Well yes. But that's obviously an ugly thing so I didn't want to say it and stain my beautiful mouth Ikakku." Yumichika explained.

"Yeah whatever…why'd you make me come with you? To teach these brats some fighting skills?" Ikakku got excited and started taking out his sword.

"No…today we are going to something much more beautiful! Dance!" Yumichika told the class. Many of the students were pleasantly surprised, while others were just plain horrified. Ikakku was included in the second half. "Alright! So everyone grab a partner. Now, I know you can't just choose someone as beautiful as me, but you'll have to suffice with your fellow classmates." The students walked around trying to find partners. Ichigo and Rukia caught each other's eyes, but then quickly looked away. Keigo was rushing to Orihime, but Tatsuki quickly kicked him away.

"Oh looks like you two are partners huh?" Mizuiro smiled at Tatsuki and Keigo.

"Huh? Wait what?!" The both exclaimed.

"I can't believe he's still going on with that plan…" Ichigo sighed and shook his head. Then noticed Orihime standing in front of him.

"Ano…K-Kurosaki-kun…d-do you want--." She was interrupted by red haired, Chizuru Honsho, who hugged Orhime from behind while screaming "Hime, be my partner!"

"Only girl-boy pairings!" Yumichika announced.

"Ehhh? But you're pairing up with that bald guy!" Chizuru commented.

"B-Bald?!" Ikakku twitched.

"T-That's because he's my assistant!" Yumichika flustered. "Besides don't talk back to the teacher it isn't beautiful!"

"Ichigo took a deep breath, "_I guess I'll go ask Rukia…I mean how awkward can it be right?"_ He was making his way over to Rukia, when he saw Mizuiro come up to Rukia. Ichigo unconsciously clenched his fists. "_Mizuiro? Why's he asking Rukia to be his partner?" _Ichigo thought to himself angrily, as he glared. "_Wait…why am I getting so angry? It's not like he's asking to marry her…n-not that I care who Rukia gets married to either, well of course she shouldn't get married to some jerk or idiot or—why the hell am I thinking so deeply into this?!" _Ichigo snapped himself out of his thoughts when Rukia walked away from Mizuiro and was walking toward Ichigo. "_Yes! She rejected Mizuiro! Gah…why am I getting so happy about that?!" _Ichigo mentally slapped himself, while trying to hide his happiness.

"Uh hey Ichigo…do you…" Rukia started.

"…Want to be partners?" Ichigo finished. They both grinned, and then quickly looked away, embarrassed.

"Ah Kurosaki-kun…" Orihime tried to say, but stopped when she saw Ichigo smiling at Rukia. She looked down, and her smiled faded, then she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Ishida standing there.

"Inoue-san…w-would you be my partner?" He asked.

"S-Sure Ishida-kun!" Inoue smiled.

"Ok! Does everyone have partners?" Yumichika asked. The whole class said yes. "Excellent! Now let's start with a few basic steps." He said and signaled to Ikakku, who clicked on a boom box that started playing a slow song. "I'm going to be teaching you all how to slow dance."

"Ehhh? Everyone already knows how to slow dance without being taught that!" Chizuru complained.

"Stop interrupting the teacher! It's not beautiful! Besides, you may think you know how to slow dance, but you don't really know anything! I will teach you the proper way. Now come here Ikakku." Yumichika gestured for Ikakku to be his partner. Ikakku muttered something under his breath, and reluctantly walked towards Yumichika.

"Hey, which one of you is going to do the girl's part?" One guy joked, earning him a scowl from Ikakku.

"Do I really have to do this?" He whined to Yumichika.

"You don't have to…but then I might just let it slip that you tried to kiss me that one night when you came home drunk." Yumichika whispered.

"Grr…fine! You may have a pretty face, but you have an evil mind." Ikakku grumbled and Yumichika grinned.

"Ok, so boys, place your arms on your partners' waist." Yumichika said and looked at Ikakku, expecting him to do so as well. Ikakku rolled his eyes but complied. "And girls put your arms around your partners' neck." Ichigo and Rukia just stood there looking at each other.

"Uh…well go ahead." Rukia said, waiting for Ichigo to make the first move.

"Oh r-right." Ichigo replied, and placed his hands awkwardly around Rukia's small waist. Rukia felt her heart beat quicken as she reached up and put her hands on Ichigo's shoulders.

"No! That's completely wrong!" Yumichika shouted and pushed Ikakku away and walked up to Ichigo and Rukia. "You're way too far apart!" He grabbed Rukia's hands from Ichigo's shoulders and pulled them around Ichigo's neck, causing Rukia's face to smash into Ichigo's chest since her arms weren't long enough to stretch all the way around Ichigo's shoulders. "Hmm…that's not beautiful." Yumichika observed, while some of the other students chuckled.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Yoruichi-sama!" Soi Fon signaled to the violet haired woman. Yoruichi had just arrived at the coffee shop where she and Soi Fon had planned to meet. Soi Fon was already standing outside eagerly waiting with a smile on her face, a smile that immediately faded once she saw who was walking beside Yoruichi. It was that man…Urahara Kisuke. "_No! I didn't think she was serious in bringing him here! Yoruichi-sama, why?!" _Soi Fon thought to herself.

"Hi Soi Fon-san!" Urahara greeted. Soi Fon just gave him a dirty look.

"Eh? Where's your date Soi Fon?" Yoruichi asked.

"Date?" Soi Fon gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean date?"

"Well this can't be double date if you didn't bring a date." Yoruichi stated.

"A double-what?!" Soi Fon gasped. "_When did I say this was a double date?!" _Soi Fon thought to herself in aggravation.

"It's a good thing I was prepared for this." Yoruichi stated, and then gestured to someone, who Soi Fon couldn't see. The person stepped forward and it was a short little guy with black hair, it was Hanataro Yamada.

"H-Hello, I'm Hanataro Yamada desu." Hanataro introduced himself politely and bowed. "Ano…why am I here again Yoruichi-san?"

"_T-This is hopeless!" _Soi Fon sighed to herself.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"This is beautiful! That isn't beautiful! Gah! What wasn't beautiful was that guy's teaching!" Chizuru complained after P.E. class was over.

"Hey! I'm still here!" Yumichika shouted from behind her.

"You're just a cheapskate who'll only make exceptions for yourself!" She said.

"You're still mad about the partner thing?" Tatsuki sighed.

"Because of him I didn't get to be with my Hime!"

"I told you!" Yumichika groaned. "Ikakku's my assistant! That's all! If I could dance with a beautiful girl…well no such girl exists who is more beautiful than I, so you see my dilemma?"

"Can I go now?" Ikakku sighed.

"Yeah seriously…" Ichigo agreed.

"Class, remember who your partners are because you'll be with them for all the partner dances that we will learn. Ok, that's all, class dismissed~" Yumichika announced.

"Isn't that great? Dance partners for the whole year?" Mizuiro said and smiled.

"Yeah…just great…" Tatsuki muttered sarcastically.

"Hey! It's not like I'm gonna enjoy this either!" Keigo exclaimed and pointed a finger at Tatsuki. The both glared at each other and looked away angrily.

"Hm, by the way, where's Renji?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah I saw him come into the gym with us, but then I didn't see him after that…" Ichigo observed. They heard some shuffling coming from the window near them. Rukia peeked out to see Renji snoring away behind a bush, his face covered by a magazine.

"Renji!" Rukia shouted, startling the red head out of his slumber.

"Hm? W-what? Is class over?" He asked absent mindedly while rubbing his head.

"You fool! Skipping class…" Rukia shook her head.

"You seriously expect me to slow dance?" Renji scoffed. "There are a few things that I will never do; one of them is slow dancing."

"Eh? But then you'll never get a date to the dance!" Keigo exclaimed. "Don't you want to date a pretty girl?" He asked with dreamy eyes. Renji didn't say anything in response and just looked down and blushed a bit.

"Ehhh…he's pretty innocent." Ichigo smirked.

"S-Shut up!" Renji said quickly.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After school, Ichigo and Rukia were about to head out to talk to Urahara, when they heard someone calling their names. They turned to see Orihime coming after them.

"Inoue, what's wrong?" Rukia asked.

"Um n-nothing…it's just that…that job interview, the other day…"

"Oh that! Well, they uh already found a person to fill the position…sorry." Ichigo said quickly. Before Inoue could say anything else, Ichigo grabbed Rukia's arm and started walking off. "See ya Inoue." He said without looking back.

"Huh? Ichigo what are you…? Ah bye Inoue!" Rukia turned to see Orihime look confused, but then force a smile and wave. When they were out of sight of Orihime, Ichigo sank down on to the hard cement. "Ichigo, are you ok?"

"Rukia…" He still held on to Rukia's arm and stared hesitantly at her.

"Didn't you drink any blood substitute this morning?" Rukia asked.

"No...you said it made me do something bad to you…" Ichigo said with a woozy expression.

"You idiot! Who cares about me…?" Rukia knelt down next to him and frantically dug around in her bag for a blood substitute boxed drink, but couldn't find one. "Damn it…why didn't I bring any?!" She swore, and then she thought about letting Ichigo drink her blood. "_No! I can't! We'll both be in more trouble if I keep relying on that! There has to be another option…"_ Rukia thought to herself, and then took a deep breath, and helped Ichigo stand up.

"W-what're you doing?" Ichigo asked with a dazed expression.

"Taking you to Urahara's!" Rukia said. "It's the only way!"

* * *

**A/N**

Hm, well that was probably one of the less serious chapters. Seriously you can't expect anything with Keigo in it to be serious; well that's what I think. Just think of it as a sort of filler chapter. Well there was still a cliffhanger, so sorry about that. Reviews are much appreciated! Bye-la~


	9. A Spell

Hey, thanks for the reviews! Hope everyone had a good Halloween, and if you don't celebrate Halloween…well hope you had a good weekend then. Enjoy.

**Chapter 9 A Spell**

"You idiot! Who cares about me…?" Rukia knelt down next to him and frantically dug around in her bag for a blood substitute boxed drink, but couldn't find one. "Damn it…why didn't I bring any?!" She swore, and then she thought about letting Ichigo drink her blood. "_No! I can't! We'll both be in more trouble if I keep relying on that! There has to be another option…"_ Rukia thought to herself, and then took a deep breath, and helped Ichigo stand up.

"W-what're you doing?" Ichigo asked with a dazed expression.

"Taking you to Urahara's!" Rukia said. "It's the only way!"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Soi Fon-san didn't look so happy to see me." Urahara sighed as he and Yoruichi were walking back to the Urahara Shop.

"Nonsense! That's what she's like when she's happy." Yoruichi explained.

"Ehh? Really, so she's a tsundere type?" Urahara asked.

"Ano…" Hanataro said, as the other two looked back at him. "I'm sorry, but what was the reason for me being here?"

"Ah, thanks for your work Hanataro." Yoruichi said to him as the three of them arrived at the Urahara shop entrance.

"Y-you're welcome…but what exactly—."

"Oh Rukia-san? What a nice surprise!" Urahara greeted the petite girl who had Ichigo leaning on her. "Hm we better get him inside."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So tell us what happened Rukia." Yoruichi said to the younger girl as they all sat down in the back room of Urahara's store. Ichigo was resting in the next room.

"Ichigo didn't get his blood fill and passed out." Rukia said.

"He hasn't been drinking the blood substitute?" Urahara asked. Rukia nodded that he hadn't.

"It's because…it had some strange side effects on him."

"You're going to have to be more specific, the side effects vary for each individual." Yoruichi said to Rukia, who looked away nervously.

"W-Well…first he had a strange dream…a-and then he…" Rukia bit her lip and blushed. Urahara and Yoruichi both grinned after seeing the petite girl's expression.

"By chance did he act as if he was in love with you?" Urahara asked, and Rukia looked up at him in surprise.

"H-how did you know?"

"Blood type AB- does have the possibility of working as a love spell. Although that reaction has only happened to a select few." Urahara had an intrigued look on his face.

"But then…he forgot all about being under the spell and what happened when he was under the spell the next day." Rukia pointed out.

"Did he now? Well that's interesting. Did he drink anymore blood while under the effects of the spell?"

"W-Why? Does that make a difference?" Rukia asked, trying to hide a blush.

"Well drinking blood is kind of like taking medicine." Urahara said, "If Ichigo was drinking AB-, and then a few hours later the love spell takes effect, and while under the spell he drinks another blood type, his body is obviously going to be confused, and I'm guessing the way his body is dealing with this is to forget the effects the AB- had on him."

"It could also be because the blood that he drank while under the spell was one that his body is more accustomed to, and therefore eliminated the effects of the AB-." Yoruichi added.

"So you're saying…?" Rukia gave them puzzled looks.

"We're saying that Ichigo drank your blood after taking AB-, Rukia-san." Urahara said with a smirk, that was covered by his fan.

"S-So you figured it out…" Rukia sighed with a defeated look. "Could you please not tell Nii-sama or anyone else about this?"

"Sure, we won't tell, but…" Urahara gave a sheepish grin.

"You didn't!" Rukia gasped. "You gave him AB-?!"

"He did." Yoruichi said, trying to stifle a chuckle.

"Oh no! What am I going to do?! I've got to get out of here!" Rukia panicked. "Do you have any duct tape?! Tie me up and blind fold me please!" Rukia begged. Urahara and Yoruichi just sat there blinking at her.

"Why would we tie you up? Ichigo's the one under the spell and it's just a love spell at that."

"Y-yeah…but…just please do it!" Rukia had a look of desperation in her eyes. She knew she was going to lose it again like last time. Ichigo, even under the love spell, held back, but she couldn't. Rukia remembered it like it was yesterday (well it was yesterday). She remembered practically attacking him. _"What was I thinking doing that?! I'm like some…vampire version of a sex addict or something!" _Rukia thought to herself as she shook her head in shame. Just then Hanataro came in from the next room where Ichigo was resting.

"Ah Hanataro, how's Ichigo doing?" Yoruichi asked him.

"H-he's still sleeping, but I managed to give him the blood substitute before he fell asleep." Hanataro explained.

"You were giving it to him just now?!" Rukia gasped.

"Y-Yes! Is there a problem Rukia-san?" Hanataro asked, as confused as ever.

"Why didn't you tell me Hanataro was giving Ichigo the AB- when we were talking?!"

"Well…you mentioned it so late into the conversation so it was already too late anyway." Urahara explained, trying to hide a smirk behind his fan. "Plus this is a perfect time to observe the love spell of the AB- at work."

"Oh so this is just an experiment for you?" Rukia glared.

"Now now, calm down. There is a way to stop the love spell from affecting Ichigo." Yoruichi explained.

"R-Really?"

"Of course," Yoruichi grinned. "All you have to do is…"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

There were some shuffling sounds in the dark that woke Ichigo up. He sat up and rubbed his head, then heard some hushed sounds in the next room.

"Are you sure I should?" It was a young male's voice.

"Well if you want to, I'm not forcing you." The other voice, Ichigo could tell, was Rukia's.

"Uh o-ok, but this might hurt a bit…since it's my first time…doing this kind of thing…"

"It's ok, I can handle it."

"_What the hell's that bastard doing to Rukia?!" _Ichigo gasped and raced to the door, practically breaking the door off the hinges. "What's going on…here?" He saw Rukia sitting down next to a small man with black hair and droopy eyes who was holding Rukia's hand close to his mouth…too close.

"Ah Ichigo, you're awake." Rukia said as she quickly stood up and walked over to Ichigo.

"Y-yeah…where are we?" Ichigo asked Rukia.

"This is Urahara's shop, remember I mentioned it earlier?"

"Right…so what exactly were you doing? And who's he?" Ichigo asked and stood between Rukia and the shorter man. "Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?" Ichigo asked and looked closer at Hanataro.

"A-ano…I-I'm Hanataro Yamada desu." Hanataro quickly stood up and bowed.

"You work at that one fast food place, don't you?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, I-I do work at a fast food restaurant." Hanataro replied.

"Ichigo stop interrogating Hanataro." Rukia sighed. "Look, he was just trying to heal the bite marks on my neck so I don't have to keep covering them up."

"You can really do that?" Ichigo mused.

"Hanataro's a healing type vampire, so when he bites someone else, he can heal their wounds instead of taking their blood like you would." Rukia explained.

"So that's why he gets to suck your blood and I can't?" Ichigo asked.

"Well yes, it's considered healing someone, when Hanataro does it." Rukia said. Ichigo didn't make any more comments, or ask any more questions as he was still thinking about this as the two joined Hanataro at the table. Rukia couldn't help but stare at the tall orange haired man sitting next to her, wondering when the love spell was going to take effect. "_I've got to get prepared for this…" _Rukia thought to herself as she stared at Ichigo trying to observe the slightest change in personality.

"What's wrong with you?" Ichigo asked uncomfortably, feeling Rukia's eyes on him.

"Hm? Oh nothing at all." Rukia replied, while continuing to keep watch on Ichigo, now even more heavily than before.

"Why do you keep staring at me then?"

"I'm not staring."

"Stop lying! I can see you right there looking at me!" Ichigo shouted.

"My my, someone's got a big head! Not everything is about you Ichigo." Rukia said haughtily.

"…Seriously you're starting to piss me off." Ichigo grumbled. "So where's this Urahara-san? This is his place isn't it?"

"Ah! Urahara-san told me he was going somewhere to get something." Hanataro said.

"Well that's helpful…"Ichigo sighed sarcastically.

"S-Sorry!" Hanataro said quickly. "Um excuse me; I need to go outside for a minute."

"Uh…ok?" Ichigo replied as he and Rukia watched Hanataro make his way out of the room, and then trip and fall on his face. "Are you ok?"

"Y-Yes, I'm ok." Hanataro gave a reassuring smile.

"Are you sure about that? Isn't that blood coming out of your nose?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh is it?" Hanataro asked more to himself than anyone else, as if he didn't notice the blood pouring out of his nose as he exited the room.

"That guy's kind of odd…" Ichigo commented after Hanataro had left. He turned to Rukia who was still staring at him. "But he's perfectly normal compared to you."

"Was that a pick up line?!" Rukia gasped, as she backed away.

"Huh?"

"N-nothing!" Rukia quickly shouted.

"What's wrong with you?" Ichigo asked, giving a Rukia a 'what the hell's wrong with you?' look.

"What's wrong? Why would there be anything wrong? There's nothing wrong! I'm perfectly fine!" Rukia exclaimed awkwardly, while waving her hands around in frenzy. "Could you do me a favor Ichigo?"

"Uh sure…what is it?"

"Tie me up with this rope and then blind fold and gag me." Rukia said with a straight face.

"W-What the hell are you saying?" Ichigo almost fell backwards after hearing Rukia's strange demands. "You're not pissing me off that much!"

"It's not that! Urahara gave you AB-." Rukia said.

"So?"

"You don't remember…but last night…you, well you weren't exactly yourself." Rukia explained nervously with a slight blush on her face. She had that cute expression again, Ichigo thought and suddenly felt like…like doing something he knew he shouldn't to her, and quickly shook the thought from his mind, but unlike before, he couldn't. The thoughts kept flooding into him, the desire sinking in, seeping through his veins. He found himself staring at Rukia not even paying attention to what she was saying, until he was hit upside the head by her.

"Hey! Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Rukia asked. "You were just standing there staring at something."

"At something? Obviously I was staring at you!" Ichigo blurted out, then slammed his hand to his mouth. "_W-Why the hell did I just say that?!"_ Ichigo thought to himself in horror.

"Ichigo…" Rukia put her hand on his arm. He felt a jolt, but didn't move his arm. "The AB- is a love spell, so what you're feeling now, it's not normal…it's not real, ok?" She said the last part a bit reluctantly, as if she wished it weren't true.

"But…" Ichigo started. "Rukia…I really--."

"Please!" Rukia interrupted him. "Please stop! I'm at my limit…" Rukia took deep breaths as she started tying rope around her hand one of the table legs.

"Then let me help you with that." Ichigo said with a seductive smile as he undid the rope that she had wrapped around her hand.

"W-Why?" Rukia asked nervously.

"Because I like a chase." Ichigo whispered in Rukia's ears.

"It's back!" Rukia freaked out and ran out the door, with Ichigo close behind.

"Don't call me an 'it'." Ichigo shouted after her. "Just call me 'my strawberry' like you usually do!"

"I never called you that!" Rukia yelled back at him, while running into another room and slamming the sliding door shut and slid down to rest for a minute. When she didn't hear any footsteps, she slid the door open a bit and peeked out to see if Ichigo was outside. The hallway was empty, so she opened it a bit wider to see.

"Maybe not to my face, but I'm sure you've called me that at least 50 times in your dreams." Ichigo suddenly said. Rukia quickly turned around, to see him lying in the middle of the small, dark room, shirtless.

"How'd you get over there?! I thought you were behind me when I was running! And when did you take off your shirt?! Better question, _why_ did you take off your shirt?" Rukia exclaimed in shock. "And who said I ever dream about you, let alone 50 times! Seriously I thought the spell made you fall in love with me. It seems more like it makes you think that I worship you!"

"Oh Rukia, I love it when you get feisty." Ichigo said while looking at her intently, as if the mere sight of Rukia was turning him on.

"I've got to get out of here." Rukia said desperately. Then she remembered what Yoruichi said earlier about a way to stop the affects of the love spell. Rukia gulped, and then decided to make her move…

* * *

**A/N**

I don't know about you guys, but I love Ichigo under the love spell, he's so much more straight forward with his feelings than normal Ichigo ne? Haha just kidding. Oh yeah and a few chapters ago, a reviewer said that Renji should call Byakuya something else and not Byakuya-san. I want to know what the rest of you think, because I don't think it would sound right for Renji to address Byakuya with a –sama at the end. How about Byakuya-dono? Let me know what you think. Bye ko~


	10. A Fight

Hey, lovely readers, thanks for all the great reviews. So, just a small change, Renji will now address Byakuya as "Byakuya-dono." Thanks to **MiranKaya **for suggesting this. I think it sounds better than –san. Like more professional sounding (if that makes any sense).

**Chapter 10 A fight**

"I've got to get out of here." Rukia said desperately. Then she remembered what Yoruichi said earlier about a way to stop the affects of the love spell. Rukia gulped, and then decided to make her move…

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Kurosaki-san has probably been affected by the love spell by now." Urahara said as he sat down next to Yoruichi on the back porch of the store.

"And Rukia's probably following my advice to get rid of the spell." Yoruichi smirked.

"This ought to be interesting." Urahara grinned, as they both looked up at the yellow-orange sky.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Rukia…where are you?" Ichigo said in a sing song voice.

"I-I'm right here!" Rukia said from behind him. Ichigo turned around to see Rukia, with the top buttons of her shirt undone, and sitting in a suggestive position. Ichigo stood there for a few second just staring at her.

"Rukia, let's have sex right now." Ichigo said with a dead serious expression.

"Yoruichi-san that obviously didn't work!!" Rukia screamed as she bolted for the door. "I'm so stupid! Those two tricked me!" Rukia grumbled as she dashed into a closet. She heard some footsteps rush past her, and then she breathed out a sigh of relief, as she sat down in the pitch black little room. "_What am I going to do?"_ Rukia sighed to herself, and then heard some breathing next to her. She gasped and held her breath. There was someone else in the closet. "_It can't be Ichigo! But who else…?" _Rukia thought to herself as she tried to hear for anymore sounds from the other person. Then a hand touched her shoulder. She gasped, turned around and pinned the person to the wall in an instant.

"R-Rukia-san, it's me! Hanataro desu!" Hanataro's voice said in the darkness.

"H-Hanataro? What are you doing in the closet?" Rukia asked, then let go of him.

"Ah well, I-I tripped and fell inside, then I got tangled in this rope so I couldn't really get out." Hanataro explained.

"I-I see." Rukia sweat dropped. "Here let me help you out with that." Suddenly the door burst open and standing there was Ichigo.

"Found you Rukia." Ichigo had a smirk on his face which faded, when he saw who else was in the closet with Rukia. "What exactly are you doing? Huh? You cheating on me?!"

"What are you talking about…?" Rukia gave Ichigo a 'what in the world are you saying?' look. Then she got an idea. "Hanataro! Can you help me with something?"

"Huh? S-sure, but what is—." Hanataro never got a chance to finish his sentence, because Rukia grabbed him by his collar, practically choking him. "R-Rukia-san what are you—?!"

"If we pretend to kiss, maybe Ichigo under the love spell will get jealous and snap out of it!" Rukia explained to Hanataro.

"H-how does that even make sense?" Hanataro asked.

"Just do it!" Rukia commanded and was about to lean in for a kiss, however Ichigo saw this and obviously couldn't accept it.

"Hey you bastard, get away from my girl!" Ichigo shouted and tried to pull Hanataro away from Rukia, but ended up falling on top of Hanataro with their lips colliding.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Those guys…they just left without even saying good bye…" Renji grumbled to himself as he walked into his bedroom and collapsed on his bed. "I guess Rukia doesn't care about me any more…now that she has Ichigo with her." Renji sighed and looked up at the ceiling. He was sitting around, for who knows how long, when his cell phone rang. He let it ring a few times, then finally got up and answered it. It was Keigo.

"Yo Keigo…what's up?" Renji answered.

"Did you hear?!?! There's a school field trip coming up soon!" Keigo exclaimed.

"So…?"

"So it means a whole week together! 7 nights together with the beautiful girls in our class! It's our chance to make a move on them! Of course it's also a chance for friendships to blossom-." Renji hung up the phone and ran to his school bag. He searched through it and found a permission slip for the very same class trip.

"_This is my chance to see Rukia again!" _Renji thought to himself happily, and ran out the door to get his permission slip signed by… "Wait a second! Who am I supposed to ask to sign this? Hm I guess anyone should be fine…" He figured and walked down the hall to see Byakuya walking the other way. "_Ah! I can ask Byakuya-dono!"_ Renji thought. "Byakuya-dono, wait up!" Byakuya stopped to see who had called his name.

"What is it Renji?"

"Hey…uh I like to think of us as family, don't you?" Renji said.

"What is this about? I have work to do." Byakuya stated, completely unfazed.

"Right…well my school's having this field trip and I need someone to sign the permission slip…could you?"

"Let me see it." Byakuya said, and Renji handed him the document. Byakuya took out a pen from the breast pocket of his jacket and started scribbling his signature.

"Woah, that's a nice pen!" Renji observed, "Where'd you buy it?" Byakuya didn't answer and handed the paper back to Renji.

"Well if that is all…" Byakuya said, wearing his trademark emotionless expression.

"You really don't want me to know where you got that pen huh?" Renji sighed. Byakuya took that as his queue to leave and turned around and began to walk. "You know," Renji said, "Rukia's going on this trip too." The red head walked up to Byakuya, who had stopped in his tracks after hearing Rukia's name. "And she'll have to get her permission slip signed too, so she'll have to come back here. Maybe then you can give her that present you got for her on the day she left." Renji smirked, and walked away. Byakuya turned around to see Renji's retreating figure. The Kuchiki placed his hand on his pocket to feel the little gift box that had been there and a very tiny smile found its way to his lips.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hm, so the love spell wears off when you kiss someone else." Rukia observed.

"I-I can't believe my first kiss was…was…" Hanataro was in a state of complete shock.

"It's not like I planned mine to be with a guy either." Ichigo sighed. "So does this mean I have to kiss someone whenever I get like that?"

"Well yes, but that was the effects of AB-, so we'll just have to try another blood type." Rukia explained. "But I don't have any with me, so we'll have to wait for Urahara to give us some. Where did you say he was Hanataro?"

"Uh…h-he didn't really tell me…" Hanataro replied. "But he went that way." Hanataro pointed to the back part of the store. "I-I'll go check if he's there." The black haired young man said to Rukia and Ichigo.

"Ok, thanks." Rukia said.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Yoruichi-san, it's time for dinner~" Urahara said, and started pouring some dry cat food in a red cat's food bowl with Yoruichi's name on it. Yoruichi just gave him a dry look. "Ah ha ha it was just a joke. But you could have at least worn the collar I bought you…" He mumbled. Yoruichi smirked and walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his back.

"It was a diamond studded collar." Yoruichi said into his ear gently. "Your intentions may be misunderstood with such a gift." She said.

"You know very well of my intentions, don't you?" Urahara grinned, with his hat covering his eyes as he turned around to face her.

"You're serious?" Yoruichi asked a little surprised. Urahara took his hat off, and nodded with a smile.

"Ano…excuse me…" Hanataro's voice broke their conversation. "Ah S-Sorry am I interrupting something?"

"No, what's wrong?" Urahara walked toward Hanataro, leaving a semi-surprised Yoruichi standing there.

"Well, Rukia-san and Ichigo-san need to get a different blood type for Ichigo-san to drink." Hanataro explained.

"So the love spell wore off huh?" Urahara smirked. "I wonder if Rukia-san followed the plan." He said, as he and Hanataro went back inside, with Yoruichi trailing behind.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After Hanataro left, Rukia turned to see Ichigo looking out the window. The sun was setting, leaving dark orange color streaming across the sky. "Ichigo…"

"…It was really weird, being under that spell or whatever…" Ichigo turned to Rukia. "I mean it's like I was watching myself doing things…and I couldn't even stop myself. I didn't…do anything to you…did I? I mean the first time this happened."

"A-about that…Ichigo, I…I have to tell you something about that night…um…I, well just promise me, you won't let it affect our friendship." Rukia said nervously.

"Well we already technically had "sex," and that didn't affect our friendship, so what else would?" Ichigo said sarcastically.

"I'm serious Ichigo." Rukia had a stern look on her face, and Ichigo understood and said nothing more. "Ok well, you started, you know getting strange, and you…well you tried to kiss me and then…"

"W-what did I do?" Ichigo asked quickly.

"You didn't...you didn't kiss me, because I asked you not to."

"Huh?" Ichigo gave Rukia a puzzled look. "Wait so…what's the problem-- ."

"I-I kissed you!" Rukia shouted her face completely red. Before Ichigo could reply, Urahara, Hanataro, and Yoruichi walked in.

"Hello Kurosaki-san, ok, so we have O- and A-, which one would you like to try? Although you should probably try both to see which one works better. So here you go." Urahara handed Ichigo a box filled with blood substitute juice boxes. Apparently he hadn't heard what Ichigo and Rukia were talking about, or at least showed no signs of it.

"Uh…yeah thanks." Ichigo said, obviously distracted. "You are…?

"Ah well I'm Urahara Kisuke, just a young, sexy shopkeeper." Urahara grinned.

"…I see." Ichigo sweat dropped. "Well thanks for the blood…substitute things…"

"Sure, no problem." Urahara said, "Don't forget to watch for changes in behavior Rukia-san."

"I will." Rukia replied, "Thanks." At that, Ichigo and Rukia, left the Urahara shop and headed home. After walking for a few minutes in silence, Ichigo decided to ask the question on his mind.

"A-about what you said before…about k-kissing me…." Ichigo stammered.

"Look, just please forget about it, it was just something stupid I did…I don't even know why." Rukia explained.

"So you're saying kissing me was something stupid?" Ichigo asked, feeling like he was being insulted.

"No…I mean it was just a mistake, let's just pretend it never happened." Rukia said, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

"A mistake? Was it really that bad?!" Ichigo asked angrily.

"Ichigo! Calm down, I'm just trying to go back to the way things were before it happened." Rukia replied.

"Well maybe I don't want to go back to how things were!" Ichigo shouted, and that made Rukia stop in her tracks. She looked up at Ichigo slowly.

"I-Ichigo…what are you saying?" Rukia asked, a confused expression on her face.

"J-Just forget it!" Ichigo sighed sharply, and walked ahead of her. Rukia looked down, not knowing what he meant by that. It was one of the first times, where Rukia had no idea what Ichigo was thinking and they both didn't like it.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Ichigo and Rukia didn't speak the whole way home, and when they got home, Rukia shut herself in Ichigo's closet and Ichigo shut himself in the bathroom. They didn't leave those rooms for the whole night. Isshin was busy at the hospital, and Karin and Yuzu had already left for their hot springs trip. The house was silent. Dark and silent, as gray clouds drifted into the indigo sky.

_"Why did he get so angry?!" _Rukia thought to herself as she leaned her back onto the closet wall. "_I mean I was trying to make it less uncomfortable for him! But he had to blow up like that…I don't like this…I couldn't tell what he was thinking…It's not like Ichigo feels the same way that I feel about him…does he? Ugh what's wrong with me?! Why am I even thinking like this…? What the hell is going on?! " _

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"_What the hell is her problem?!" _Ichigo grumbled to himself, as he slammed the bathroom door shut. "_She was the one who kissed me, and then she just wants to forget about it?! Did she really think it was just a mistake? Arrgghh why am I getting so annoyed about this?! No, I do know…at least I think I do… well it doesn't matter, since she clearly doesn't feel the same way. Ugh, this is pissing me off!" _Ichigo punched the door with his fist, and sunk to the floor. "_Why couldn't she see…? Damnit!"_

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

When morning finally came, Ichigo was sore all over from falling asleep on the bathroom floor. He got up slowly to lessen the pain, and went into the hallway to see his dad collapsed on the floor.

"O-Oyaji?!" Ichigo gasped.

"I-Ichigo…? B-bathroom…is it free now?" Isshin asked, half dead.

"You needed to use the bathroom? How long were you waiting out here?"

"Uhh…3'oclock…in the...morning...I think…" Isshin got up and almost collapsed again. Ichigo guided his father to the bathroom, and then closed the door, leaving his father to…relieve himself. Ichigo headed for the kitchen to find it empty. "_So she's not awake yet huh?" _Ichigo thought to himself, and then turned around to see Rukia coming down the stairs. He quickly turned back around, and Rukia walked right past him. He watched her take out some bread and put it in the toaster.

"What?" She asked him. He just blinked at her. "What're you looking at?" She said in a cold tone.

"What the hell's with your attitude?!" Ichigo shouted, "I'm the one who should be angry!"

"You?! You're the one who blew up in my face, when I was just trying to make your stinking life easier!" Rukia yelled right back.

"Oh? You were trying to make my life easier?! Then how about you just get the hell out and leave me and my stinking life alone!" Ichigo hollered at Rukia. Rukia was struck silent, and Ichigo immediately regretted saying what he just had. Before he could say anything else, Rukia ran past him out the front door, and Ichigo couldn't move a muscle to stop her.

* * *

**A/N**

Ichigo, you baka! Hehe I had to have an serious argument between the two at some point. I mean c'mon it can't be all lovey-dovey with these two ne? Reviews are loved and appreciated! Ok bye-za~


	11. A Regret

Hey, thanks for the reviews. Sorry for not updating last week, I was busy with school, since it was right before Thanksgiving break. Well enjoy the chapter~

**Chapter 11 A Regret**

"What?" She asked him. He just blinked at her. "What're you looking at?" She said in a cold tone.

"What the hell's with your attitude?!" Ichigo shouted, "I'm the one who should be angry!"

"You?! You're the one who blew up in my face, when I was just trying to make your stinking life easier!" Rukia yelled right back.

"Oh? You were trying to make my life easier?! Then how about you just get the hell out and leave me and my stinking life alone!" Ichigo hollered at Rukia. Rukia was struck silent, and Ichigo immediately regretted saying what he just had. Before he could say anything else, Rukia ran past him out the front door, and Ichigo couldn't move a muscle to stop her.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Renji was skipping along the cobblestone path of the vampire establishment. Yes, he was skipping. At 6 in the morning, and the sky was gray, and thick with fog. Renji shivered a bit, but his happiness couldn't be stopped from a little cold weather. He'd been that way ever since last night, when he had found out about the week-long school trip. Renji was so wrapped up in his delight that when he skipped past Byakuya, who was awake entirely too early for his liking, the red head almost knocked over the smaller man.

"Ah sorry Byakuya-dono! How come this keeps happening to us huh?" Renji laughed out loud. Byakuya just stared at him, with his same cold expression.

"Are you drunk Renji?" Byakuya asked.

"Drunk? Well if you mean drunk on life, then yes I am!" Renji had a grand smiled as he spread his arms out wide to absorb the sunlight rays that were peeking out through the clouds. Byakuya stared at him, wondering what exactly Renji was up to. He remembered he had better things to do, so Byakuya decided to leave the red head to his strange behavior.

"Don't be late for school Renji." Byakuya said and turned to leave.

"Aw come on! What are ya? My father?" Renji chuckled. Byakuya stopped and stared blankly at Renji. No one had ever talked to Byakuya that way, especially not Renji.

"Excuse me?"

"Ah sorry! I'm just really happy today!" Renji exclaimed.

"When you're happy, you're disrespectful to others?" Byakuya said as more of a statement than a question.

"N-no…I just meant you could have said something like, 'Have fun at school!' Well I guess that sounds ridiculous since it's impossible to have fun at school…" Renji rambled on. "Oh, how about 'That smiling face suits you best Renji!' Whoa…I'm sorry that was really cheesy, there's no way any self respecting man would say that…it's not like this is a Shoujo manga right?" Renji joked; of course Byakuya didn't find it so funny. "Right…well I'll go to school now." Renji said awkwardly and dashed away as fast as his legs could carry him.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Ichigo walked into the classroom to see Rukia wasn't there. _"Damn it."_ He thought to himself, as he walked towards his desk.

"Morning Ichigo." Mizuiro greeted. "Eh? Where's Kuchiki-san today? You guys didn't walk to school today?" Ichigo couldn't even answer, so he just looked away. "What happened? Did you guys fight?" Ichigo grumbled and walked out of the classroom. "So they did huh?" Mizuiro said to himself.

"Mizuiro!!!" Keigo shouted and ran into the classroom. "What happened to Ichigo?! Why was he so scary looking?! Well…more than usual!" Keigo freaked out.

"He's having a fight with Rukia." Mizuiro explained.

"Oh no! Ichigo and Rukia-chan are the star couple of the class! This can't be!" Keigo panicked.

"I thought you were against Ichigo having a girlfriend yesterday?"

"Yeah...but I decided it isn't right to put a stop to true love!" Keigo announced. "But what are we going to do Mizuiro?!"

"We can't do anything; they have to sort this out themselves." Mizuiro explained.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Ichigo stood on the school's rooftop, leaning his arms on the metal fence, feeling the cold air pass through him, as he stared up at the gray sky. He rubbed his temples and sighed sharply. Rukia was walking up the stairs to the roof top, when she heard Ichigo's voice. "Damn it Rukia. Where did you go?" Ichigo said out loud. Rukia stopped, when she saw Ichigo with his back turned, alone, looking up at the sky. He was clearly talking to himself, so Rukia decided to hear what he was saying. "Why did I have to say that? God, I'm so stupid!" He slammed his fist onto the fence, making a loud clacking sound. "Rukia…I'm sorry. Why couldn't I just say that? Instead I just keep blaming her! Even though she's always thinking of me before herself…here I am being so freaking selfish!" Ichigo said in a bitter tone. Rukia clenched her fists. She hated seeing Ichigo like that…so upset...especially if she was the reason. She was about to walk up to him and say something when she heard the bell ring. Ichigo turned around to get to class, and Rukia ran for it. She just couldn't face him at that moment.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After his last class had ended, Ichigo dashed out of the school. He had to find Rukia. He had to fix things. He went to the park, the Chappy store, Urahara's shop, and any other place Rukia might be. She was nowhere to be found. "_She wouldn't be at home…after what I said this morning…there's no way, she'll come back." _Ichigo thought to himself as he ran through the streets, searching. A light drizzle began, with tiny droplets touching the tips of Ichigo's hair. He heard his phone ring in his pocket. He fished it out and answered it. It was Renji.

"Hey what happened to Rukia? She wasn't at school today, and I didn't get a chance to ask you."

"So she's not at your place?" Ichigo asked.

"No…why? What happened Ichigo?!" Renji was getting concerned.

I gotta go bye!" Ichigo hung up and continued his search. For hours, Ichigo looked and looked, but couldn't find her anywhere. It was already dark and the afternoon drizzle turned into a nightly shower. Rain was pouring everywhere, as some people ran to shelter, while others were glad they had been prepared with umbrellas. There were rain drops pouring down Ichigo's face from his dampened hair, as he stopped and stared at the now empty street. The rain was always there…when Ichigo lost someone important…someone irreplaceable. Once again, it was there, mocking him…showing him it was his fault…his fault she's gone. "No! Not…not again!" Ichigo shouted. "This can't be happening again! Rukia! Where are you?!" Ichigo yelled as he ran through the lonely streets, squinting to see through the rain and darkness. "Rukia!" He shouted desperately, feeling dizzy all of a sudden. He was soaked and shivering, "I…I…I need you…" Those were the last words Ichigo said, before he collapsed onto the middle of the street.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hey Kurosaki, are you ok?" A voice woke Ichigo. Ichigo's whole body was aching miserably, and he was shivering. He slowly opened his eyes to see Ishida staring back at him. It was dark and cold, and the rain was still pouring. Ishida was holding an umbrella over them. Ichigo realized he was not far from the last place he remembered being, which was that empty street, where he had collapsed.

"W-what happened?" Ichigo asked slowly, while sitting up.

"You were collapsed in the middle of the street, so I brought you to safety before you could get run over by a car." Ishida explained.

"Yeah I feel real safe now…" Ichigo said sarcastically as they heard a police siren go off a ways away.

"A simple thank you would suffice." Ishida said with an annoyed expression. "What happened? Are you ill Kurosaki? People don't just faint like that."

"Thanks Ishida…" Ichigo said, and stood up to leave, but almost fell over. He regained his footing, or at least tried to, and continued walking, leaving behind a confused Ishida staring at him. Ichigo kept walking, until he turned the corner and was out of sight of Ishida. Then he fell onto an alley wall, panting heavily.

"Damn it…I didn't get to take any blood since that day…actually I haven't eaten anything since yesterday either." Ichigo muttered to himself, as he tried to keep moving. "If I can make it home…I can get some blood, since I can't do anything in this condition." Ichigo figured. After much struggling, Ichigo finally made it to his house, but he forgot his keys, so he knocked at the door, feeling worse than he ever had. His head was pounding so hard he felt like boulders were smashing against his skull. The rest of his body ached mercilessly, wanting desperately to have a rest. No one was answering the door, and Ichigo couldn't hold out much longer. His skin was freezing cold and soaking wet from the icy rain. It was all too much for Ichigo. The last thing he saw was a figure with black hair behind him before his eyes closed shut and he blacked out.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Ichigo woke up to find himself wrapped up in layers of blankets, in warmth. In his bed, in his room. "H-how'd I get here?" Ichigo asked, then turned to his side to see Ishida standing there placing a cup of tea down on Ichigo's nightstand. "Ishida?"

"How many times do we have to do this until you realized your own stupidity Kurosaki?" Ishida sighed, as he pushed his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose.

"You…how'd you get into my house?" Ichigo asked.

"It wasn't me…" Ishida said, and then turned around when the door opened, and in came Orihime.

"Kurosaki-kun! You're awake! Are you feeling better?" The auburn haired girl asked.

"Inoue? Why are you…?"

"I accidently called Inoue-san, when I was trying to contact someone else." Ishida explained. "I ended up explaining the situation to her and she wanted to come and see how you were."

"Oh…" Ichigo replied. "So who let you in then?"

"Ah well that person is downstairs…and I think she wants to talk to you." Ishida said.

"She?!" Ichigo gasped, and practically jumped out of bed and out of his room, and headed straight for the kitchen. Ishida had a slight smile on his face, and then turned to see Orihime had a pained expression, but when she noticed Ishida was staring, she forced a smile, but Ishida knew exactly what she was feeling.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Ichigo dashed downstairs, looking around quickly, in the living room, and then headed for the kitchen. Then he saw Rukia. She was wearing a light blue apron, and had her back turned. It looked like she was trying to find out what spice to put in whatever she was making in a large pot. She turned around when she heard his footsteps.

"I-Ichigo! You're awake…I know you said not to come back…but then—."Rukia was interrupted when Ichigo grabbed her head with both his hands and pressed his mouth to hers in a passionate kiss, Rukia was shocked, but of course didn't stop him as his tongue found its way into her mouth. The kiss lasted for a few minutes until Ichigo broke it off, surprising Rukia again. "W-w-what was that?" Rukia asked, with a huge blush on her face.

"P-payback." Ichigo mumbled, wearing a blush and avoiding Rukia's gaze.

"H-huh?"

"You kissed me, and now I kissed you, so we're even." He explained and pointed a finger at her. Rukia just stood there and blinked at him, not understanding his logic, but secretly liking it.

"So…now we're ok?" Rukia asked, trying to hide a smile.

"Yeah." Ichigo smirked. The both just stood there gazing at each other, then they heard the telephone ring, which woke them up from their own little love-love world. "A-ah! I uh better get that…" Ichigo said quickly, and almost tripped on his own feet on the way to the phone, while Rukia cleared her throat and tried to stifle a giggle. Ichigo answered the phone to hear Renji's voice on the other line.

"Oh hey Renji, what's up?" Ichigo asked, and Rukia's looked his way after hearing her red haired friend's name.

"Did you find Rukia?"Renji asked quickly.

"Yeah." Ichigo turned to Rukia, and then smiled to himself, and Rukia looked at him, confused.

"Oh, that's good." Renji breathed a sigh of relief. "So you know the school field trip right?"

"What school field trip?"

"Didn't you get a permission slip to get signed?" Renji said.

"Did we get permission slips?" Ichigo asked and looked to Rukia. Rukia shrugged her shoulders.

"Well you did." Renji sighed. "So I guess Rukia will have to come back here and get that permission slip signed by Byakuya-dono." Renji tried to sound relaxed.

"Why doesn't Rukia just give it to you to give to Byakuya?" Ichigo suggested.

"No, she can't do that!" Renji said a little too loudly. "I-I mean, I don't want to give it to Byakuya-dono because…uh…because we're not speaking right now."

"Huh? Why?"

"Why? Well…uh he…he called me a dog and tried to get me to wear a collar and do dog tricks for him!" Renji lied.

"Ehhh…really?" Ichigo asked, suspiciously. "That Byakuya doesn't seem like the type to do that."

"To do what?" Rukia asked, and tugged at Ichigo's arm to hear what Renji was saying on the phone.

"Hey! L-let go of me." Ichigo said to Rukia and tried to push her way.

"Aw come on! Don't be so cold! Besides I want to hear what Nii-sama did." Rukia exclaimed and pulled at his wrist.

"I'll tell you after! Just let go of my arm!" Ichigo yelled, and pulled too hard away from Rukia that they got tangled up and fell on the floor, dropping the phone on their way down.

"Hey Ichigo?! Hello?" Renji shouted through the phone. All he could hear was muffling sounds.

"Renji." Byakuya appeared behind Renji, scaring the life out of the red head.

"O-oh…it's just you Byakuya-dono? Is something wrong?" Renji asked.

"When are you planning to get off the phone, you're keeping up anyone who's sleeping in the building." Byakuya said with a slightly irked expression.

"Ah sorry…it's just that I was on the phone with Ichigo and then something happened with him and Rukia." Renji explained.

"Mmmnn…Ichigo! That tickles!" Renji and Byakuya heard Rukia say through the phone. They immediately went into deadly auras mode.

"Where does that filthy brat live?" Byakuya asked with a dead serious expression.

"I'll lead the way." Renji replied, wearing a similar expression.

"Oh and Renji?"

"Yes?" Renji asked.

"What was that you were saying about dogs?" Byakuya asked, making Renji fear for his life.

* * *

**A/N**

Ok, so there wasn't a hot make-up between Ichigo and Rukia, and I'm sorry for that, but I hope not too many of you are dissapointed....Well hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! Bye~


	12. A situation

Hey, sorry for my recent slow updates. I'll hopefully get to work on future chapters over winter break, so even when I am busy I can update. Anyways on to some good news...we reached over a 100 reviews! (This might not be a big deal to some, but for me its fantastic!) Yay~ Its all thanks to you awesome reviewers, so thanks for your support!

**Chapter 12 A situation**

"When are you planning to get off the phone, you're keeping up anyone who's sleeping in the building." Byakuya said with a slightly irked expression.

"Ah sorry…it's just that I was on the phone with Ichigo and then something happened with him and Rukia." Renji explained.

"Mmmnn…Ichigo! That tickles!" Renji and Byakuya heard Rukia say through the phone. They immediately went into deadly auras mode.

"Where does that filthy brat live?" Byakuya asked with a dead serious expression.

"I'll lead the way." Renji replied, wearing a similar expression.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ichigo! G-Get off me! It tickles!" Rukia tried to hold back laughter. Ichigo and Rukia got tangled up and fell down together, with Ichigo landing on top of Rukia, his hair tickling her neck.

"I-I'm trying! Stop moving so much!" Ichigo replied, as he lifted his face off her stomach. Rukia couldn't stop laughing, with her cheeks flushed. "You're really ticklish." Ichigo observed, still lying on top of her.

"No it's not that…" Rukia said through spouts of laughter. "Pfftt…i-its…it's your face! You have such a stupid look on your face!" Rukia chuckled. This pissed Ichigo off.

"Oh, so you think my face is funny?!" Ichigo grumbled.

"No, not funny, it's stupid!" Rukia smirked.

"So that how it is huh?!" Ichigo had an evil grin. He started tickling her stomach, and she burst out laughing.

"I-Ichigo! S-Stop it!" Rukia begged, and tried to worm away from underneath Ichigo. She was almost free, until Ichigo grabbed her by the waist, and wouldn't let go. "Ichigo! Let go of me!"

"Never!" Ichigo replied, clearly enjoying having the upper hand. He hugged her close to him with one arm and with other poking her stomach, which made Rukia almost tear up from laughter.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Ishida and Orihime decided that Ichigo and Rukia have probably finished talking out their problems, so they decided to head downstairs to rejoin the other two. Ishida got downstairs first and saw Ichigo and Rukia laughing and being very, _very _close. _"Well looks like they're back to normal…or maybe even closer than normal." _Ishida figured to himself, and then remembered Orihime, and that she'll probably be upset about this. Orihime was coming down the stairs right at that moment and Ishida panicked. "I-Inoue-san! How about we go back upstairs? It looks like they haven't sorted out their problems yet!"

"Really? But how come I can hear laughter?" Orihime asked.

"Oh that's the T.V." Ishida lied.

"Really? But Ishida-kun I can see the T.V. from here and it looks like it's off." Orihime pointed out.

"Ah w-well…that's…" Ishida said in a flustered manner, as he tried to come up with another excuse.

"Well then let's go Ishida-kun." Orihime smiled and tried to pass Ishida into the living room. Before he could think of anything else, Ishida grabbed Orihime and pulled her into his arms.

"Please…don't go Inoue-san." Ishida whispered softly into her ear. Orihime was too stunned to move or say anything. She just stood there, her heart was racing. She couldn't see or hear anything else; all she could do was feel Ishida's warm, gentle embrace as pink stained her cheeks. Suddenly the door burst open and Ishida quickly let go and she was thrust back into the real world again. The people who were at the door were staring at them. It was Renji and Byakuya.

"Ishida? Inoue? What're you guys doing here?" Renji asked.

"We could say the same about you." Ishida replied.

"We just have to take care of some business…ah there they are!" Renji pointed to the living room, and he and Byakuya proceeded to march in, right towards Ichigo and Rukia. Ichigo still had his arms wrapped around Rukia's waist, and Rukia had one hand on Ichigo's face trying to push him away, while the other was holding onto the collar of his completely unbuttoned shirt, revealing his unbelievable toned chest. The both had flushed cheeks, and were panting hard from all the laughing that they did. Of course Byakuya, Renji, and Orihime didn't know this. Orihime and Renji had looks of shock, while Byakuya had a look of…well he appeared to have his usual just annoyed expression, however he was emitting waves of rage and fury. Ichigo and Rukia finally realized everyone watching and separated quickly.

"Uh hey…when did you guys get here?" Ichigo asked, awkwardly as he buttoned up his shirt.

"N-nii-sama! What brings you here?" Rukia asked, embarrassed to appear in this kind of situation in front of her older brother _again._

"Inoue-san, how about we check on that soup in the kitchen?" Ishida suggested, seeing the obviously awkward situation.

"Huh? Oh...ok!" Orihime agreed and followed Ishida into the kitchen. After they left, Byakuya and Renji walked right up to Ichigo and Rukia.

"You…this is the second time I've caught you in this type of a situation with Rukia." Byakuya said.

"Yeah! And there's always someone buttoning up their shirt when we catch you! It's almost exactly the same!" Renji shouted and pointed a finger at them.

"Renji, I'll handle this." Byakuya told the red head.

"Right! Sorry sir!" Renji apologized and stood still.

"N-Nii-sama! It's not what it looks like, you see…we weren't…I mean Ichigo was just…" Rukia tried to explain.

"Look, we were just playing around." Ichigo said.

"Yeah…but what games were you playing?! Huh?!" Renji pretty much spat in Ichigo's face.

"The hell's that supposed to mean?!" Ichigo shouted right back. "And where's your collar huh dog boy?! Weren't you being house trained by him?!" Ichigo shouted and pointed to Byakuya.

"Huh?!" Rukia gasped. "That's what you were saying on the phone?!"

"That wasn't…I mean…" Renji stammered.

"Renji, didn't I tell you to let me handle this." Byakuya said.

"Right…sorry sir." Renji replied.

"Wow…he's really got you on a tight leash huh?" Ichigo observed. Renji clenched his teeth, but restrained himself from punching the smug grin right off Ichigo's face.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," Byakuya started, "You have been assessed as an unsuitable pure blood partner for Rukia. Rukia, you will return home at once." Byakuya stated.

"N-Nii-sama! I mean no disrespect, but on what grounds can you make such a decision?" Rukia asked. "It was decided that I would remain as Ichigo's dhampir partner until a suitable permanent partner is found." She explained.

"Then I will find an appropriate replacement tomorrow." Byakuya replied.

"But Nii-sama…"

"Are you defying me?" Byakuya asked. "It appears that being around this filthy brat has done more damage than I had thought."

"Hey! What's your deal?" Ichigo said angrily. "How can you decide whether our partnership is bad or not?!"

"It appears that the two of you are involved in a relationship that is closer than that of pure blood and dhampir partners." Byakuya explained.

"Of course it is! We're friends too!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Don't you mean friends with benefits?" Renji cut in.

"The hell's that supposed to mean?!" Ichigo glared at the red head.

"As Rukia should already know, vampire partnerships are meant to be strictly platonic." Byakuya said.

"Nii-sama I assure you, Ichigo and my relationship is strictly platonic." Rukia replied. A slight stab went through Ichigo's heart. Ichigo found that it hurt that she thought of their relationship as strictly platonic. But obviously he couldn't say that out loud, and end up looking like a fool, so he decided to pretend he agreed with her.

"Yeah, we don't like each other like that…we're _just_ friends." Ichigo lied. Rukia looked at Ichigo in slight surprise, but quickly turned back to Byakuya and nodded in agreement. "So there's nothing to worry about, okay?"

"It's simply foolish to depend on your word alone. However for tonight I will give in, Renji, let's go." Byakuya stated.

"Huh? Really?" Renji asked, astonished that Byakuya would just let it go so easily.

"Yes, besides, we have some _other _affairs to attend to, don't we?" Byakuya said to Renji, and started leaving.

"O-other affairs?" Renji blinked, having no idea what the dark haired man was talking about.

"Oh! Is Byakuya gonna teach you some new tricks when you get back Renji?" Ichigo joked. "Maybe how to fetch? Or play dead?"

"Shut up!" Renji grumbled and left.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Well at least that's sorted out…" Rukia sighed. "I'm glad we convinced Nii-sama…you know about our relationship."

"Yeah…" Ichigo agreed uncomfortably. "I…I can't believe he thought we had…I mean that we liked each other like that."

"Y-Yeah…I wonder where Nii-sama got that from…" Rukia forced some laughter, as if the whole idea of it was so ridiculous.

"Ha ha…yeah, it's so stupid." Ichigo tried to laugh along, but ended up chuckling awkwardly.

"So out of the realms of possibility, that it's just…"

"Yeah…" The both were silent for a while. "_No! This is bad! Now she'll think I don't and will never think of her that way! But what am I supposed to say...?" _Ichigo thought to himself.

"_Great…now he's going to think I'll never like him as more than a friend! Now I'll never be able to tell him my real feelings…wait! I was actually planning on confessing?! But if he doesn't feel the same way…it'll be so awkward…it'll probably be too weird to hang out like we normally do...then we'll stop being friends and that's even worse!" _Rukia panicked as she thought to herself.

"Uh—." Ichigo and Rukia both said at the same time.

"Ah sorry, you go first." Rukia said.

"Uh well…I was just going to say that you know before, when I kiss—." Ichigo was interrupted when Orihime came back into the room.

"Ano…Kurosaki-kun, Kuchiki-san, the soup is done. Eh? Where are Abarai-kun and that other man?" The auburn haired girl asked.

"Uh they left…" Ichigo replied, a bit distracted, since obviously, he was going to say something important to Rukia. "Rukia, I…" Ichigo tried to say, but noticed Orihime standing there, which made it awkward.

"It's ok, tell me later." Rukia said, noticing his discomfort. Ichigo nodded and they followed Orihime into the kitchen for some hot soup.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Byakuya-dono, may I ask you something?" Renji asked, as he and Byakuya were walking home.

"What is it Renji?" Byakuya asked, as he adjusted his precious scarf around his neck.

"How come you gave in so easily? I mean, it's kind of obvious something is going on between them…" Renji pointed out.

"I never said I had given up." Byakuya said, causing Renji to give him a questioning glance.

"Ok…and another question, what were those other affairs we had to attend to?"

"Those affairs, well you will see, and so will they." Byakuya said, with an almost sinister expression.

"They? You mean Ichigo and Rukia?!" Renji gasped. Byakuya didn't respond, and merely gave Renji a very slight, menacing smirk.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Mmmhh this soup is actually pretty good." Ichigo commented, as he slurped up the last drops from his bowl. The four of them were sitting at Ichigo's dining table, drinking the soup that Rukia had made.

"Of course it is!" Rukia said with a haughty laugh.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get so excited idiot, it's not that great." Ichigo sighed.

"Oh really? Then how come you've already had three bowls full?" Rukia questioned.

"Well that's…that's just because I haven't eaten anything in a long time!" Ichigo retorted. "I was so desperate I could have eaten anything!"

"R-really? If you're still hungry Kurosaki-kun…you could have some of the chicken and candy cane curry I made!" Orihime exclaimed and showed them a bowl of a strange pink liquid with white swirls in it and unidentified red and blue chunks floating around.

"Oh…uh sorry Inoue, but I uh drank a lot of Rukia's soup, so I'm kind of full, so I'll pass." Ichigo explained, while trying to avoid even looking at the horrid concoction Orihime had cooked up.

"Oh…ok." Orihime said, feeling a bit rejected.

"So…uh thanks Ishida. For you know…saving me before, from dying on my own front porch." Ichigo said.

"It wasn't me Kurosaki." Ishida replied.

"Huh? But I thought you…phoned Rukia?"

"No, well yes. When you left I decided to follow you, but I phoned Kuchiki-san first to see if she knew what was wrong with you and ended up phoning Inoue-san instead. After I told Inoue-san about what happened, I went to your house to see Kuchiki-san had already taken care of you." Ishida explained. Ichigo was surprised to hear this…even after all that stuff he said to her, she still came back…she still helped him. Ichigo found that he was angry with himself that he ended up depending on Rukia again, but also found himself happy that she cared that much about him. He looked at Rukia, who looked away quickly, clearing her throat. About an hour later, the rain began to subside, and Ishida and Orihime decided to head home. They were at the Kurosaki's porch, saying their goodbyes.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay overnight?" Rukia asked. "The weather is still harsh."

"No, it's ok Kuchiki-san! It'll be fine, since we have rain coats and umbrellas!" Orihime assured her. "Bye Kuchiki-san! Bye Kurosaki-kun!" She waved at them and they waved back. At that she and Ishida, who gave a goodbye nod, left. Ichigo and Rukia watched them leave, and then went back inside.

"Well that's that…" Ichigo sighed and stretched his arms, while yawning. "By the way, how come I feel fine now? I haven't had blood to drink since we went to Urahara's shop?"

"I gave you some O- after I brought you inside. Clearly you were blood-deprived." Rukia replied. Ichigo looked down in silence, while clenching his fist. He felt even more useless after hearing that. Once again…he was helped. He was suddenly met with the impact of Rukia's foot in his stomach.

"Oww! Ugh what the hell was that for?!" Ichigo shouted, while clutching his stomach.

"There's no point feeling weak and pathetic about whatever idiotic things you did." Rukia said, with a serious expression. Ichigo glanced at her. "If you don't want other people to worry about you and save you, then you just have to make sure you don't do something so foolish again."

"Fine…but you better not disappear like that again." Ichigo smirked. "Why do you think I was out there in the first place?"

"Ichigo…" Rukia stared. "But you…"

"Whatever stupid things I say…don't go away like that again, Rukia…please." Ichigo said, looking straight into Rukia's eyes, his voice more quiet and gentle now. Rukia looked at Ichigo for a minute, into his eyes. He looked so sincere…and so vulnerable. It was a side of Ichigo, she rarely saw.

"Ichigo…" Rukia started, "You baka!" Ichigo was startled by her sudden words. "…I'm not going anywhere." She said, and looked up at him with a warm smile. He smiled back, feeling relieved and ecstatic at the same time. He didn't know what to say, and then finally thought of the only thing he could.

"Rukia…thanks."

* * *

**A/N**

Sorry for the cheesiness in that last part, but I do think that Ichigo and Rukia occasionally have scenes like this…you know where Ichigo says some overly corny dramatic thing, instead of just out right saying "I love you!" to Rukia. And Is it just me or did I make Byakuya sound like a villain? Hehe...oh and my next update will be probably in two weeks since that's my break. Until then...Bye chi~


	13. A closet

It's been so long! Sorry about that, I got sick and I really had difficulties writing this chapter for some reason…Anyways hope everyone had happy holidays and here's to a great 2010!

**Chapter 13 A closet**

"Whatever stupid things I say…don't go away like that again, Rukia…please." Ichigo said, looking straight into Rukia's eyes, his voice more quiet and gentle now. Rukia looked at Ichigo for a minute, into his eyes. He looked so sincere…and so vulnerable. It was a side of Ichigo, she rarely saw.

"Ichigo…" Rukia started, "You baka!" Ichigo was startled by her sudden words. "…I'm not going anywhere." She said, and looked up at him with a warm smile. He smiled back, feeling relieved and ecstatic at the same time. He didn't know what to say, and then finally thought of the only thing he could.

"Rukia…thanks."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

The next morning came along, and the air outside was damp and cold, from last night's rain. Renji shivered and pulled his jacket tighter around his body, as he walked to school.

"I wonder what Byakuya-dono had in mind to deal with Ichigo and Rukia…" Renji thought to himself. "Whatever it is…its' probably not something to take lightly…" He thought out loud.

"What's something to not take lightly?" A voice asked from behind Renji. Renji gasped and turned around to see Rukia and Ichigo behind him.

"Rukia? What're you guys doing here?" Renji asked.

"We're going to school….where else?" Ichigo replied sarcastically.

"Oh I don't know, maybe off a cliff, so I don't have to see you stupid face anymore." Renji glared at Ichigo. However instead of retaliating like he usually would have Ichigo started…crying. "Whoa…what's wrong with you? I was kidding! You don't have to cry about it!" Renji said in a panic.

"I-I'm not crying!" Ichigo retorted, while tears streamed down his cheeks. "There's just something in my eye—oh what's the point of hiding it…you're never gonna like me anyways…" Ichigo sobbed.

"H-huh?!" Renji was just plain confused at this point. "Rukia, what the hell's wrong with him?!" Rukia was just staring at Ichigo, speechless.

"Renji…I think you broke Ichigo." Rukia commented.

"I didn't do anything!" Renji shouted.

"Ah! It must be the new blood type." Rukia figured. "Hm so apparently O- doesn't work for Ichigo…" Rukia noted, and took out an O- type blood juice box to read the side effects. "It says side effects may include depression, confusion, anger, emotional distress, or dramatic changes in mood."

"Well it seems like he has most of those…" Renji pointed out, as Ichigo wiped away his tears. "Can he really go to school like this?"

"It's not like I can give him another blood type substitute, it'll make the effects even more unpredictable." Rukia said. "It's just one day, we'll just have to try and help Ichigo control it."

"Or Ichigo could drink some real blood." Renji said

"What are you saying? You know Nii-sama doesn't approve of Ichigo drinking my blood." Rukia replied, surprised that Renji would even suggest such an idea.

"Not your blood!" Renji said quickly. "Someone from school, then that person can become his source of blood, and you don't have to continue being his dhampir partner. Perfect plan, killing two birds with one stone!" Renji explained.

"Oh…I'm not sure about that." Rukia said nervously. Secretly she didn't want to even think of Ichigo drinking some other girl's blood. For some reason, it made her feel uncomfortable. "I mean, how are we even going to get somebody to let Ichigo drink their blood? We can't just tell them everything."

"Well how about we convince someone really stupid to do it! Like…Keigo?" Renji said.

"Keigo?! You expect me to drink Keigo's blood? But he's a guy…" Ichigo said. Renji and Rukia quickly looked at the now perfectly normal Ichigo.

"Ichigo, you're back to normal?" Rukia asked. "So quickly…but how? Maybe the effects were only short term? Or maybe they come and go?"

"I don't know either….but I am not drinking Keigo's blood!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"…It was just an idea…besides the gender of the person you drink blood from doesn't matter! I've seen it happen before in real life." Renji retorted.

"…You've seen a guy drinking blood from another guy before?" Ichigo gave Renji a shifty look, as if Renji had just said he witnessed hot man on man action.

"W-Well not like I've actually _seen_ it! But I know vampires who have drunk blood from a human of the same gender!"

"I don't care! I'm not doing it…" Ichigo protested, and started to walk away.

"Don't be such a stick in the mud!" Rukia said.

"I'm not being a stick in the mud!" Ichigo glared.

"Hey man, don't knock it 'til you've tried it." Renji said.

"Why're you talking like that? As if you know at all of what the hell you're freaking saying?!" Ichigo shouted at the red head. "You're neither a pure blood nor a human, so what would you know?!"

"Well I know that you're being stupid and ridiculous!" Renji snapped back. "What's the big deal? I let someone drink my blood before and I didn't feel anything from it! It's not like you're doing it for sexual reasons like when you do with Rukia!" He yelled.

"Shh not so loud you freakin' idiot!" Ichigo shouted, while trying hard not to blush.

"See? You can't even hide it, because you know it's true!" Renji said.

"J-Just hold on a second Renji." Rukia tried to calm the red head down, while trying to hide a blush from his earlier comment. "…You let a pure blood drink your blood? Who was it?"

"None of your business, and don't change the subject!" Renji answered almost too quickly.

"Ehhh…doesn't look like the reaction of somebody who wasn't affected from someone else drinking their blood." Ichigo commented.

"S-shut up…" Renji stammered. "Ok I get it…who it is does make a difference."

"Wow…you really like this person don't you Renji?" Ichigo joked. However Renji didn't take it as a joke, and just blushed harder than he did before. "…I guess he really does…" Ichigo whispered to Rukia, who nodded in agreement.

"What are we supposed to do about the side effects then? Since we can't just recruit someone at random…"

"Oh well, I guess you'll have to do." Ichigo said to Rukia.

"W-What are you saying, you fool?!" Rukia blushed.

"I-I was just kidding….mostly." Ichigo mumbled. "You don't have to overreact so much…but seriously, what other options do we have?"

"Now that I think about it, Urahara said that my blood eliminated the effects of the blood substitute, but that's because Ichigo was more used to my blood." Rukia explained.

"So that means it wouldn't even make a difference if I drank the blood of someone else besides you." Ichigo said to Rukia.

"Well if there's nothing else--." Rukia started to say, trying not to seem as if she was easily giving in to temptation.

"No, we'll think of something else! Rukia will not and doesn't want to give her blood to an idiot like you! So stop depending on her so much!" Renji exclaimed.

"No, Renji it's not really--."

"You're right." Ichigo said in a serious tone. "I'll just ditch school today. Well then see you guys later." Ichigo decided, and turned around to go back home.

"No…wait...I'm supposed to be with you all the time, so I'll skip school as well." Rukia said.

"You can't, you're already getting bad grades…." Ichigo pointed out.

"Hey! That was just one test!" Rukia said. "Ok, I have a plan. You two go to class; I'll be back before lunch. Oh and give Ukitake-sensei my permission slip for the class trip."

"Ok, but where are you going?" Ichigo asked.

"Renji, help out Ichigo, when the side effects kick in again. It seems that they appear and go away at random."

"But where are you—?" Renji tried to ask, but Rukia was already leaving.

"I'm counting on you Renji!" Rukia shouted and dashed off.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ok class, before you leave turn in your permission slips for the class trip next week." Ukitake announced to the class. "Well that's all, see you tomorrow everyone." He smiled.

"Sensei, Rukia couldn't make it for class, so I'm turning in her permission slip for her." Ichigo explained.

"Oh yes, is she ok?" Ukitake asked.

"Uh yeah it's just a…you know…v-problem." Ichigo tried to say.

"Ah I see." Ukitake smiled, implying he understood.

"Now you're handing in school stuff for Rukia-chan?!" Keigo gasped. "How close are you guys?! Don't tell me you're shacking up together?! Oh no!! Where are you Chad?! You're my only friend now!!" Keigo shouted and ran out of the classroom. Ichigo just rolled his eyes and headed out of the class room as well.

"Hey, wait up!" Renji shouted to Ichigo, as he shuffled through his backpack.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't find my permission slip!" The red head explained.

"Did you forget it at home?" Ichigo asked.

"No! I know I put it in here! What do you think I am some kind of idiot?!" Renji shouted.

"Y-You don't have to yell." Ichigo whimpered. "I-I already know I'm useless…you don't have to rub it in my face…" Ichigo started crying.

"Damn it!' Renji cursed.

"Now, now everyone, let's all just calm down." Ukitake said in a kind voice. "Renji, how about you just turn in the slip tomorrow? And Ichigo…?"

"Uh thanks Ukitake-sensei! I'll do that. Well I have to…go to the bathroom…don't you Ichigo?" Renji said quickly and grabbed Ichigo and ran out of the classroom as fast as he could.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Renji ran into an empty hall way, with a sobbing Ichigo still in tow.

"I'm sorry ok? Just stop crying!" Renji pleaded. "Why do I have to deal with this…Where the hell is Rukia?" He muttered to himself. "Look, I'll give you some candy if you'll stop crying and shut up." Renji said to Ichigo, and took a piece of strawberry candy out of his pocket.

"I don't want your stupid candy, I'm fine!" Ichigo suddenly shouted.

"Jeez, what's your problem man?! I was just trying to be nice!" Renji yelled right back.

"It's these annoying side effects I can't help it." Ichigo said in a calmer voice.

"Right…sorry. Well looks like you're back to normal for now, so let's just go to class." Renji suggested. At that, the two headed for their next class which was P.E. When they got to the gym, Yumichika a.k.a. Yumi-sensei was in yet another heated argument with Chizuru.

"I already told you! There are no females who could match up to my beauty, so that's why Ikakku is my dance partner!" Yumichika explained in an exhausted tone.

"That's so stupid! What about Hime?! Huh? Isn't she the most beautiful and adorable girl in the world?!" Chizuru yelled back.

"She's a student! Plus she already has a dance partner! Ugh, why am I even having this argument?! It's not beautiful at all!" Yumichika sighed.

"You know what's not beautiful?! You!" Chizuru shouted and pointed a finger at her P.E. teacher. Yumichika was silent after hearing such a shocking statement then almost collapsed onto the floor, before Ikkaku caught him.

"W-what happened? I…I thought I heard…I thought I heard someone say…something about n-not being…beautiful…" Yumichika said with a glazed over expression.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine." Ikakku sighed as he helped Yumichika steady himself.

"Ah right…what was I doing?" Yumichika said, snapping back to his old self.

"Being ugly!" Chizuru exclaimed. Yumichika twitched a bit, but tried his best to ignore her. "Hey ugly…when are we going to start class?!" Chizuru yelled.

"That's it!" Yumichika went for the noisy girl, but Ikakku had to pull him back. "Ikkaku…she called me ugly…3 times!"

"She's just trying to get to you. Just ignore her." Ikkaku said in a calm manner.

"Wow I'm impressed Ikakku! You're being so calm and collected today." Yumichika commented, as Ikakku wore a smug grin.

"Che…that bald dude is so gay." Some students chuckled.

"Who said _bald_?" Ikakku immediately took out his wooden sword.

"Ok class; find your partners, because we're going to learn the fox trot today!" Yumichika announced. Renji and Ichigo just stood there, since Ichigo's dance partner, Rukia wasn't there yet, and Renji never actually attended class, and therefore didn't have a dance partner. "Oh Rukia-chan is absent today? Then I guess you two will have to—." Yumichika was going to say, just as Rukia walked, or rather ran into the room.

"I-I'm here sensei!" Rukia said between deep breaths.

"Rukia-chan you made it. Ok then, I guess Abarai Renji will have to be with…Izuru Kira." Yumichika figured.

"But he's my partner!" Chizuru protested.

"Not anymore! You've got detention for disrupting and disrespecting me! Now go sit down on the bleachers and be quiet!" Yumichika exclaimed. Chizuru groaned, but went to sit down.

"B-but Yumi-sensei…we're both guys…so who will…?" Kira tried to say.

"All right," Yumichika sighed. "Chizuru can still be Kira's partner, and Renji will have to…"

"Sensei, I went to get Ichigo's allergy medicine, so can we go outside for a second so he can take it?" Rukia asked.

"Uh yes sure." Yumichika responded still distracted with the current situation. Ichigo followed Rukia out of the gym.

"So what happened?" Ichigo asked. "How are you going to stop these side effects?"

"Here drink this." Rukia fished out a small tube of red liquid from her shirt pocket.

"…What is it? Blood?" Ichigo examined the tube. "Don't tell me…it's yours? But how did you…?" Ichigo looked around quickly to see if anyone was looking and dragged Rukia into a nearby storage closet. "That's what you left to do?! Where's that blood even from?!"

"Calm down Ichigo." Rukia said. "It's not blood, its fruit juice."

"Huh?"

"It's just a prop. I came only now to make it seem like I went home to get your medicine, so that we had a legitimate reason to leave class."

"But why do we need to leave class?" Ichigo asked.

"So you can drink my blood, why else? Besides Renji's not here now, so he can't report it to Nii-sama." Rukia explained.

"Rukia…no I can't…"

"Why? Because of what Renji said before?"

"He's right though…I can't keep taking your blood."

"Ichigo, foolish stupid Ichigo…."Rukia shook her head in pity. Ichigo responded with a glare. "If it was really such a pain for me, I would have just quit being you dhampir partner. Obviously I'm doing this because I want to."

"You…you _want_ me to drink your blood?" Ichigo asked with a surprised expression.

"W-Well when you say it like that…I mean I didn't exactly say that I _wanted _you to…it's just that I…" Rukia stuttered. "Oh just drink my blood already! The teacher's going to get suspicious if we take too long!"

"Oh right! Wait no! I told you I'm not—." Ichigo was interrupted when Rukia grabbed him and pressed her lips to his. Ichigo was obviously caught off guard, but quickly forgot the initial shock, and pretty much everything he just said as he gently, but firmly pressed Rukia to the closet wall. He slid his lips down her neck, and unbuttoned the top buttons of Rukia's shirt. He could hear her heart beating faster, as he sunk his sharp fangs into her neck.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Where are Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia?" Yumichika asked the class, when they had finally sorted out the partner issue. Well actually it wasn't really solved since Renji said he had to go to the bathroom (and decided for himself that he didn't need to learn the foxtrot.)

"I believe Kuchiki-san said that she brought Kurosaki's allergy medicine and then they went outside so he could take it." Ishida explained. "However, it's been more than 5 minutes since then."

"Why would it take so long to take allergy medicine?" Yumichika asked. "Hm, Renji before you go to the restroom, could you call Ichigo and Rukia inside?"

"Ah, sure sensei." Renji responded and walked outside of the gym to see no one nearby. "Uh…sensei," Renji said as he returned to the gym. "They weren't outside…"

"Hm? But I thought they said…" Yumichika frowned and followed Renji back outside to see that the red head was in fact correct.

"So I guess they ditched?" Ikkaku commented from behind Yumichika.

"T-those two…" Yumichika suddenly had a scary look on his face. "Dared to actually do such a…such an ugly thing…!"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"I-Ichigo…w-what are you…?" Rukia was now on the closet floor, with Ichigo on top of her. She could feel Ichigo nibble on her collarbone. He had finished drinking her blood, but he wasn't getting up. Rukia could feel Ichigo's warm hand touch her knee and slowly move up her thigh. "…I-Ichigo…"

"D-do you not want me to…?" Ichigo asked in a husky voice, his breath tickling Rukia's ear.

"It's n-not that…" Rukia answered. "It's just…I-Ichigo…did you take any AB-?" Rukia asked, thinking he was still under the love spell.

"So we can't do these kinds of things when I'm not under a love spell?" Ichigo stopped and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"W-what are you saying?" Rukia blinked at him in confusion.

"I-I don't even know...I just…" Ichigo looked away, and then started to get up, when Rukia grabbed his arm.

"I'm sorry…it was my fault, since I suddenly k-kissed you like that. I just wanted you to stop talking and..."

"T-There's nothing to be sorry about." Ichigo said. "Rukia…I don't know about you, but I really—." Ichigo was interrupted, when the lights suddenly went out, leaving the small closet pitch black. "Damn it…" Ichigo cursed the sudden disruption. "I'll find the light switch." He said and wandered around the dark little room for the wall with the light switch. He felt something soft.

"Ichigo, that's me." Rukia said quickly.

"Oh, sorry…." Ichigo quickly removed his hands and turned in the opposite direction and ended up stubbing his foot on something cold and hard, that made a clanging noise. "Ah damn it!" He yelled out in frustration.

"The light switch isn't working!" Rukia declared. "Oh and the door won't open either."

"What?!"

* * *

**A/N**

Those two bad seeds…skipping class and doing "things" in a school closet. (Shakes head) I now know the reason I had difficulties with this chapter, it's _those_ kind of scenes, you know the sexual/blood sucking ones. They're so difficult for me. Well hopefully they're not too…ridiculous or anything. Ha-ha, well new chapter up hopefully next Saturday, or maybe the following Monday. So until then, Bye~


	14. A way out

Hey, hope everyone had a good week. Thanks so much for the reviews, and for telling me that my "blood-sucking/sexy-type scenes" were not ridiculous and that I was doing a good job. I was really unsure about that so your reassurance made me feel really good. Thanks to you awesome reviewers!

**Chapter 14 A way out**

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Ichigo said. "Rukia…I don't know about you, but I really—." Ichigo was interrupted, when the lights suddenly went out, leaving the small closet pitch black. "Damn it…" Ichigo cursed the sudden disruption. "I'll find the light switch." He said and wandered around the dark little room for the wall with the light switch. He felt something soft.

"Ichigo, that's me." Rukia said quickly.

"Oh, sorry…." Ichigo quickly removed his hands and turned in the opposite direction and ended up stubbing his foot on something cold and hard, that made a clanging noise. "Ah damn it!" He yelled out in frustration.

"The light switch isn't working!" Rukia declared. "Oh and the door won't open either."

"What?!"

"It seems a certain idiot locked us in because he doesn't know how to use doors." Rukia said dryly.

"Shut up! It was an accident…" Ichigo retorted.

"Excuse me! Anyone out there? We're trapped in here!" Rukia banged the door and shouted.

"Uh…that's not the door." Ichigo said.

"That was you?!" Rukia tried to hide a gasp. "…Why's he so firm?" She mumbled to herself.

"Did you say something?" Ichigo asked, suddenly being reminded of a _certain_ dream involving a _certain_ girl in a bunny suit a few chapters ago.

"Huh? Oh, no I didn't say anything…" Rukia lied. "Ah! Do you have your phone with you?"

"No…what about you?"

"If I had mine I wouldn't have asked you." Was Rukia's answer.

"Right…so now what?" Ichigo sighed.

"Well it's a good thing I brought my special Chappy deluxe flashlight!" Rukia pronounced as she clicked it on, sending a small beam of light out.

"That's great," Ichigo replied sarcastically, "but how're we going to get out of here?"

"I guess we'll just have to pick the lock with my amazing special Chappy deluxe lock picking set." Rukia said.

"They sell those…? And why are you carrying it around with you?" Ichigo asked. "Oh well doesn't matter, so can you do it?"

"I'm trying." Rukia replied. There were some shuffling noises, then a crack. "It broke…" The short girl turned around to face Ichigo and said.

"That thing's freakin' useless! Well I didn't expect much…" Ichigo sighed. "We'll just have to keep banging the door, someone will eventually hear." He suggested, and started banging on the door. "Hey, anyone out there?!"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Keep on searching everyone! We must find them!" Yumichika told his students. He had decided to turn his class into a search party to find Ichigo and Rukia, so they could receive an appropriate punishment.

"Where are those guys…?" Renji muttered to himself angrily. "I can't believe they would sneak off to do _that_."

"Eh?! Sneak off to do what?!" Keigo gasped. "Y-You mean_ it_?! How could Ichigo do this?!?!" Keigo shouted.

"Shh quiet! You're getting the wrong idea!" Renji tried to say, but it was too late, everybody heard, and began chattering about it.

"Well those two always seemed like more than friends…" One girl commented.

"Yeah…but during school?" Another girl said. "Isn't that kind of unlike those two?"

"Well Kurosaki is the bad boy type, so maybe he forced Kuchiki-san?" A guy said.

"Wait no…you guys! I didn't mean…" Renji tried to say.

"Hey wait! I though Abarai-kun liked Kuchiki-san?" A girl with brown pigtails said.

"Yeah! You must be jealous huh?" A black haired guy commented.

"Why would I be jealous? I don't like Rukia like that…we're more like brother and sister—wait why the hell am I even telling you this?!" Renji sighed, and ran off to find Ichigo and Rukia.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"This is ridiculous! Maybe we should just knock the door down?" Ichigo suggested.

"Fine…" Rukia agreed. "Ah, wait is there any blood on my shirt or anything? Since that'll look suspicious."

"Let me see…" Ichigo flashed the light on Rukia. "You've got something…like right there." Ichigo pointed to his neck. Rukia brushed her hand across her neck.

"Is it gone?"

"No…it's still there…" Ichigo sighed. Rukia tried again in vain. Ichigo was getting annoyed and impatient. He grabbed her by the shoulder and touched his tongue to her neck licking away the blood.

"I-Ichigo…!" Rukia blushed, obviously being caught off guard.

Suddenly the door flew open. Standing there was a very unhappy Renji.

"What the hell were you just doing to Rukia?" Renji said under his breath to not attract the attention of the others.

"Finally! Thanks man…" Ichigo said and proceeded to exit the closet, when Renji blocked his path.

"Answer the question." Renji stated, wearing a serious expression.

"Renji don't be like that." Rukia said. "We were just—."

"Just what? Huh? That's what you always say! Why can't you idiots just admit you love each other?!" Renji shouted, gaining the attention of the other students as well as Yumichika and Ikkaku. Ichigo and Rukia were speechless, their faces completely red as everyone stared.

"R-Renji…w-what are you saying?" Rukia chuckled awkwardly breaking the silence. "Aren't you such a joker? How about we go and talk about this in private huh?" Rukia said in a fake sweet voice, and then quickly dragged Ichigo and Renji away. Everyone else watched them leave then immediately went into discussing what had just happened.

"Finally! Some drama!" Yumichika smiled. "I knew if I started working at a high school something like this would happen eventually!"

"That's the reason you started working here?!" Ikkaku glared at his pretty friend.

"Of course! Plus I look stunning in sweat pants." Yumichika explained matter of factly.

"Oh…is that so…?" Ikkaku fumed. "Come here a second Yumichika."

"W-why?" Yumichika asked nervously and began to back away as Ikkaku walked towards him. "I-Ikkaku I was just kidding!" He shouted and ran for his life out the door with Ikkaku chasing after him. The students just stood there sweat dropping.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"W-what was that about?!" Ichigo shouted at Renji as soon as the three of them were alone.

"What do you mean what was that about?! I was just saying what neither of you had the guts to do!" Renji yelled right back.

"Shut up you two! There's no need to yell!" Rukia hollered at both of them.

"But you're yelling too…" Ichigo pointed out.

"Look Renji, I don't know why you said that, but it's none of your business. Ichigo and my relationship is between me and Ichigo." Rukia explained.

"I-I know…but it was just pissing me off…" Renji looked down.

"So who was it?" Rukia asked.

"Huh?"

"The pure blood who drank your blood." Rukia said.

"You know…the one you're in_ love_ with." Ichigo added with a smirk.

"W-what's with that sudden topic change?!" Renji blushed.

"We now have to get involved with your love life, because…"

"Because I got involved in yours." Renji finished with a sigh. "Look I really can't tell you guys…even if I wanted to…"

"It couldn't be Unohana-san, she's too clean for that…" Rukia figured.

"You're just ignoring me?!"

"Maybe it's that guy with the dog head? You know since you are a dog boy." Ichigo joked, earning him a glare from Renji.

"He's not even a vampire!" Renji grumbled.

"Is it somebody I know?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah..." Renji groaned.

"Well that doesn't really narrow it down since we know a lot of the same people…" Rukia said. "Is it somebody Ichigo knows?"

"I'm leaving!" Renji declared and turned to leave.

"Ok great, so which pure bloods have you met?" Rukia asked excitedly, then noticed Renji was gone. "Ah he left…"

"He's so easy to read…." Ichigo sighed. Soon enough an awkward silence engulfed the two. Ichigo stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky. "_Why does it feel so awkward when it's just the two of us? It never used to be like this…" _Ichigo thought to himself.

Rukia looked as if she was going to say something, when they heard some loud bickering coming closer. They looked in the window of the hallway they were standing outside of to see Keigo, Mizuiro, Tatsuki, Orihime, Ishida, and the other students walking.

"Are you even a girl?! How can you damage my feet so much from just stepping on them?!" Keigo shouted at Tatsuki. The loud teen was then kicked in the gut and smashed into the window face first. "Ah Ichigo! Rukia-chan! What're you guys doing out there?!" Keigo shouted, when he spotted the two from through the window.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ichigo…" Keigo said through sniffles. "W-why didn't you tell us that you had such a serious condition?!"

"…What're you talking about?" Ichigo asked, as the two of them, along with Rukia, Chad, Renji, Ishida, and Mizuiro were sitting on the roof and enjoying their lunch.

"Well because you had to leave class to take some 'medicine,' so we all assumed the worst." Mizuiro said.

"Uh…no that was just because—well it doesn't matter. Look, I'm not sick or anything, ok?" Ichigo explained.

"Then why did you go off during class?" Renji smirked. "With Rukia, into a clos—."

"Renji…" Rukia patted a hand on the red head's shoulder, wearing a smile and whispered in his ear. "I can easily find out about 'you-know-who' because as we both know, Ichigo hasn't met many pure bloods. Oh and I'm pretty sure the 'you-know-who' is actually—."

"Ok, ok….I'll stop." Renji whispered back in desperation. Rukia smiled with satisfaction, thinking about how wonderful blackmail was. "S-so anyways…" Renji said out loud, trying to change the subject.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"And then I told him that you haven't met many pure bloods and he bought it." Rukia told Ichigo as the two were walking home from school.

"Good, at least we can keep him quiet for a while…" Ichigo smirked. "Now all we have to worry about is Byakuya."

"Speaking of Nii-sama…" Rukia said, "Remember when Nii-sama said that vampire partnerships are supposed to be strictly platonic…do you think that maybe—."

"Hey you guys!!" Keigo shouted from behind them. "Aren't you so excited for the school trip?! I can't believe we're going to a hot springs!"

"Y-Yeah…it should be fun." Rukia forced a smile. She sighed to herself, interrupted again. Ichigo however felt like he knew what she was going to say…and the thought of it made him blush…a lot as he tried to turn his face the other way, so the others wouldn't notice him.

"This is going to be the best school trip ever!!" Keigo announced.

* * *

**A/N**

It's just one interruption after another! Those poor souls (Ichigo and Rukia). Oh well it's just the fates testing them! We all know IchiRuki will prevail! Ok, so I know this chapter was pretty short, but it was kind of like a transition chapter to the next part of the story. If that makes any sense…well until next time~


	15. A long ride

Hey, thanks for the reviews. This is probably my fastest update ever! Yay! But on the down side, the chapter is shorter. Well enjoy.

**Chapter 15 A long ride**

"Good, at least we can keep him quiet for a while…" Ichigo smirked. "Now all we have to worry about is Byakuya."

"Speaking of Nii-sama…" Rukia said, "Remember when Nii-sama said that vampire partnerships are supposed to be strictly platonic…do you think that maybe—."

"Hey you guys!!" Keigo shouted from behind them. "Aren't you so excited for the school trip?! I can't believe we're going to a hot springs!"

"Y-Yeah….it should be fun." Rukia forced a smile. She sighed to herself, interrupted again. Ichigo however felt like he knew what she was going to say…and the thought of it made him blush…a lot as he tried to turn his face the other way, so the others wouldn't notice him.

"This is going to be the best school trip ever!!" Keigo announced.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

It was the morning of the school trip, and Ichigo and Rukia were just about ready to leave.

"First my two adorable daughters left!" Isshin sobbed "and now my cute new daughter and dear son are leaving too!"

"Calm down Oyaji…" Ichigo sighed. "We're only going for a week, besides Yuzu and Karin are coming back tomorrow."

"Y-you're so cold!!" Isshin exclaimed and ran to his Masaki poster. Ichigo just ignored him and picked up his bag and headed for the door.

"We'll be going now." Rukia bowed to Isshin, and then went to pick up her bag.

"Ah Rukia-chan…I have to ask you a favor." Isshin took Rukia aside. "Take care of Ichigo for me. I know he's an idiot, but I leave him in your care." Isshin smiled and put a gentle hand on Rukia's small shoulder. Rukia was a bit surprised, but then smiled back and nodded.

"Hey Rukia, we're going to be late." Ichigo said as he opened the front door to leave.

"Ah coming!" Rukia said to Ichigo, and then turned to Isshin who smiled and waved. She smiled back then followed Ichigo out the door.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Yosh…that's everything…I guess I should go now." Renji said to himself as he carried his bags to the gates of the vampire establishment. He stared back at the extravagant building. "Well it's not like I expected anyone to come…maybe I should tell Byakuya-dono I'm leaving. Hm he probably won't care…" Renji figured. "I'll just tell him anyway…" Renji decided. He ran into the building and straight to Byakuya's office. He knocked at the door before entering. There was no response. "Byakuya-dono? Its Renji, can I come in?" Still more silence. Renji knocked again, with no results. Renji panicked and burst through the door to see that the room was empty. The curtains were closed and it was dark. Renji flipped open the light switch to see that the room hadn't been used since yesterday. _"He didn't even come in here today? Where else would he be…? There's no way he's still sleeping._" Renji thought to himself. "_He probably went out…che he couldn't even bother to see my face before I left…" _Renji sighed, and then mentally slapped himself for thinking such thoughts. _"_Geez who the hell cares what he does! I don't need to see his face anyways…"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"This is so exciting! I can't believe we're going to leave soon!!!" Keigo jumped for joy, as he, and the rest of the class were waiting at the school grounds for the bus to come. Ichigo and Rukia noticed Renji walking up to them with a grumpy look on his face.

"I didn't think you were going to make it before the bus comes…" Ichigo commented then noticed the look on Renji's face. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing…" Renji grumbled. "Are we going yet?" He asked impatiently.

"We're still waiting for the bus…" Rukia said. "I thought you were looking forward to this trip Renji."

"I am! Can't you tell?! I'm so freakin' excited!" Renji yelled obnoxiously.

"You don't have to shout…" Rukia frowned.

"It's probably love problems that are making him so irritable." Mizuiro explained.

"Oh really?" Rukia said in amazement, and then gave Renji a smug look. Renji just glared at them and looked away. The bus came around the corner and everyone got ready to get on.

"Ok, does everyone remember their assigned seat numbers?" Ukitake asked the class.

"Yes sensei!" The class answered.

"Kurosaki Ichigo!" A voice shouted from between the crowd. Ichigo turned to see Chizuru running towards him. Ichigo blinked at her.

"Could you trade seat numbers with me?" She asked.

"…why?" Ichigo asked.

"Because I heard Hime has the seat next to yours!" She explained with hearts in her eyes.

"Uh sure…" Ichigo responded. "Where are you sitting?" She told him the seat number and gleefully hopped into the bus and sat in her new seat. Ichigo sighed and walked up the stairs of the bus towards his seat. He saw Rukia sitting at her seat, and secretly hoped his was somewhere close. He then noticed that Chizuru was sitting next to Rukia. "I thought that you..."

"Ooops I made a mistake, but Rukia-chan is so cute that it's ok!" Chizuru smiled at Rukia, who looked away bashfully.

"That's…so great for you." Ichigo replied sarcastically, struggling to bite back swear words. He forced himself to avoid Rukia's eyes and move forward to his seat. "_I'm so stupid!_ _If I didn't switch with her…I could have sat with Rukia! Damn…" _Ichigo thought to himself angrily as he trudged over to his seat. As luck would have it, his seat mate was Orihime. Ichigo wanted to hit his head on something hard over the ironic circumstance. Instead he sighed and sat down.

"K-Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime blushed, as she noticed Ichigo sit down next to her. Of course Ichigo didn't notice this, and just gave her a small greeting. He sighed and rested his elbow on the arm rest. The only thing he could think was that this was going to be a long ride.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ichi-pyon! Wakey-wakey!" a familiar voice sang in Ichigo's ear. Ichigo slowly opened his eyes to see bunny Rukia sitting on top of him. "Are you finally awake? Mou…you're such a sleepyhead Ichi-pyon!"

"W-wha…again with this dream?!" Ichigo gasped and sat up, to see that he was not wearing a shirt. "Where'd my shirt go?!" He gasped.

"Hehe silly Ichi-pyon…you won't need your shirt for what we're going to do next!" Bunny Rukia said with a suddenly serious voice as she attempted to unbutton his pants button.

"W-what the hell are you doing you crazy bunny?!" Ichigo blushed and freaked out. He tried to escape, but Bunny Rukia was hovering right over him, her weight surprisingly holding him down. "Help! I'm going to be raped by an insane bunny!" Ichigo shouted, as his eyes darted around, looking for anybody to help. But there was no one in the seemingly peaceful green fields that seemed to go on for miles. Suddenly the scenery changed to a large bedroom suite with minimal soft lighting and a few candles. He was lying in a grand white bed covered in rose petals. Ichigo blinked a few times to see if this was actually real. He looked under the covers to see he wasn't wearing anything at all. "What the hell?! Where are my clothes?!" He shouted to no one in particular, as he stood up and quickly yanked a silky sheet from the bed and wrapped it around himself. Just then the bathroom door creaked open, and out came Rukia in a silky night gown.

"What's wrong Ichigo?" She asked in a suggestive manner as she walked up to him and touched his neck and slowly moved her hands down to remove the sheet.

"W-what are you d-doing Rukia?!" Ichigo blushed hard and tried to back away. But Rukia took two steps forward for every one step he took back until his back was to the wall.

"Isn't it a bit hot to be wearing that thick sheet?" She whispered in his ear slowly, making him shiver. She smirked as she pulled the sheet down revealing Ichigo's toned chest. She was about to pull more off, when Ichigo grabbed her hand.

"Wait Rukia! Stop…this isn't…" He looked down, still holding her arm. "This isn't you…it's just a dream…"

Rukia blinked, taken off guard by his actions, "Ichigo…." She said in her normal voice.

"Rukia…" Ichigo smiled. "There's the Rukia I know." he said. Rukia blushed a bit, and then smiled. "Rukia…look I need to tell you…I-I love—." Ichigo was about to say, but Rukia put a finger to his lips.

"Shh…don't tell me." She smiled. Ichigo stared blankly, confused. Suddenly she began to fade away.

"Kurosaki-kun! Kurosaki-kun!" A voice kept nagging at him as Rukia vanished.

"Wait Rukia don't go! Rukia…Rukia…" Ichigo murmured and suddenly opened his eyes to see he was still in the bus. "Rukia…? He said out loud absentmindedly, and then noticed Orihime sitting next to him and staring. "Oh Inoue…ah sorry I must have fell asleep…" He said and ran a hand through his hair.

"N-No…it's ok Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime smiled, even though her heart was hurting. She didn't know what Ichigo was dreaming about, but she heard him say Rukia in his sleep plenty of times.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

When the bus finally arrived at the hot springs, everyone got out and had to stretch their legs from sitting down for so long. Ichigo spotted Rukia, and fought his every will to run up to her and hold her close to him. He didn't realize when exactly he got so attached to Rukia that he couldn't even bare to be apart a few hours. Little did he know, Rukia was feeling the exact same thing.

"Hey…." Ichigo said.

"So how was it?" Rukia asked.

"I just slept the whole time…" Ichigo responded. "What about you?"

"Next time, we have to make sure to sit together." Rukia told him.

"It was that bad huh?"

"Well it's just that I'm not used to being around so many…girls." Rukia said shyly.

"Well you're a girl too…so what's the problem?" Ichigo sighed, as the two got their bags. Rukia looked away with a slight blush. "I get it, we can make sure you're not sitting with a girl on the way back."

"I didn't say anything…it doesn't really matter!" Rukia protested.

"You just did, and then you made that face!" Ichigo grumbled.

"What face? I did no such thing!" Rukia retorted.

"You just did! Ah, you're doing it right now!" He pointed at Rukia's face.

"No I'm not! This is my normal look." She replied as the two walked towards the hotel. Orihime watched them with a depressed look. Ishida noticed her looking sad and walked up to her.

"Inoue-san?"

"Ah Ishida-kun! I-I was just thinking that Kuchiki-san is such an amazing person isn't she?" Orihime forced a smile. Ishida frowned, as he never enjoyed seeing Orihime like this.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After everyone got settled in to their rooms, they decided to go soak in the hot springs. The boys were in the changing room.

"This is so exciting!" Keigo exclaimed and started stripping.

"You keep saying that all day." Ichigo sighed.

"Well this is exciting! Maybe we can get a peek at the girl's bath!" Keigo said, then giggled. "Just like in those TV shows!"

"Asano-san stop blending fiction and reality please, it's very pathetic." Mizuiro stated in a cold manner.

"Mizuiro!! Why do you always have to be so cold?!" Keigo sobbed and wrapped his arms around the smaller guy.

"Stop pressing your naked body to mine, it's making me extremely uncomfortable." Mizuiro tried to push Keigo away from him. Clad in only their towels, the boys opened the door into the hot springs to see there was already someone there, but the person had their back turned. On closer look the person had long pretty black hair, and a good body.

"We're coming in now!" Keigo announced. The person turned around, and both Ichigo and Renji's jaws dropped.

"B-Byakuya?!"

* * *

**A/N**

Byakuya in the hot springs…(gets nosebleeds) Anyways…I actually have nothing else to say, so until the next chapter bye~


	16. A plan

Hey, thanks for the awesome reviews guys. There were some really funny ones that made me laugh. I'm sorry for updating kind of late, I didn't even realize it had been more than a week. Oh and happy belated birthday to Byakuya! It was on the 31st if you didn't know, which is the same as my sister's...(and she doesn't even know who Byakuya is...) Well hope you enjoy the chapter!

**Chapter 16 A plan**

Clad in only their towels, they opened the door into the hot springs to see there was already someone there, but the person had their back turned. On a closer look the person had long pretty black hair, and a gorgeous body.

"We're coming in now!" Keigo announced. The person turned around, and both Ichigo and Renji's jaws dropped.

"B-Byakuya?!" Ichigo gasped. "What the hell?!"

"You know this guy?" Mizuiro asked them, just as Byakuya began to leave.

"I'll be right back…" Ichigo replied and followed Byakuya back into the changing room.

"Me too…" Renji followed as well. Once the three of them were in the changing room, Renji made sure to shut the sliding screen door tightly behind him. Then he turned to see Ichigo glaring at Byakuya. Renji found himself staring at Byakuya who was only wearing a towel that went from his hips to far above his knee. Renji felt really awkward all of a sudden and decided to stare at the floor.

"So are you going to tell us what the hell you're doing here?!" Ichigo said angrily.

"I believe that isn't any of your business, Kurosaki Ichigo." Byakuya stated in a cool manner, then slipped on a robe and made his way out.

"Ah wait Byakuya-dono!" Renji said and ran after the dark haired man, leaving a confused Ichigo behind. "Byakuya-dono!" Renji called after Byakuya, who finally stopped and turned around. "Why did you…?"

"Have you already forgotten the plan Renji?" Byakuya asked.

"The plan? Well you never really told me anything about it…" Renji mumbled. "Wait this is the plan?! You coming here so you can spy on Ichigo and Rukia?!" Renji gasped. "Wait…but how'd you get in? This place was reserved for our class trip?"

"I signed up as a chaperone." Byakuya responded. "There was part on the back of your permission slip about parent/legal guardian chaperone sign ups."

"There was? Oh that must be why I couldn't find my permission slip that day…" Renji figured, and then came to a realization. "Then does that mean you're my legal guardian?!" He asked, and then noticed that Byakuya was already gone.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Whose parent is he?" One female teacher whispered to another.

"He looks too young to be a parent though!" The other whispered as they gazed at Byakuya, whilst the students, teachers and chaperones sat down for dinner at a seafood restaurant.

"I can't believe Nii-sama would go this far…" Rukia sighed, as she and Ichigo were sitting in a booth together discussing her brother's sudden arrival.

"Hey guys!" Renji came and slid in to their booth on the bench across from them. "You should try this shrimp, it's really good!"

"This isn't the time to be enjoying shrimp Renji!" Rukia reprimanded. "We have to do something about Nii-sama…"

"Yeah." Ichigo agreed. "He really becoming a pain in the a—."

"N-Nii-sama!" Rukia quickly slammed her hand in front of Ichigo's mouth to prevent him from hearing Ichigo's insult.

"You two are as close as usual, I see…" Byakuya said in a bitter tone as he stood looking at them.

"W-why don't you sit down Byakuya-dono?" Renji asked, trying to ease the tension, but instead received looks of horror and anger from both Rukia and Ichigo. Byakuya decided to ignore Ichigo and Rukia's obvious looks of disdain and took a seat next to Renji. He was thinking of sitting elsewhere by himself, but it seemed that the female teachers, chaperones, and students kept trying to bother him when he was alone. He assumed they would leave him alone if he was sitting with other people, but he was wrong. Soon enough, some female teachers scuffled on over with curious faces.

"Excuse me…some of the other teachers were wondering…whose parent you are?" A woman with brown curly hair and a deep purple blouse asked Byakuya.

"Byakuya-dono isn't anyone's parent." Renji explained.

"Oh really? Abarai-kun, then what is your relationship with Byakuya-san?" The brown haired woman asked.

"We're partners!" Renji exclaimed, brightly.

"P-partners?!" A blonde teacher gasped. "So that's how it was…the good looking ones are always like that…"

"But isn't that illegal? Abarai-kun is underage!" The brown haired woman gasped.

"Ah wait! N-no I didn't mean like that….I-I meant, um…." Renji stammered.

"I'm his legal guardian." Byakuya stated in his usual cool manner.

"Oh I see!" The two woman answered and walked away gushing about how Byakuya is such an amazing person to be raising a teenage boy all by himself, even when he, himself isn't that much older.

"Sorry about that…" Renji laughed awkwardly. "I guess I should have just kept my mouth shut…ha ha…" Renji tried to laugh it off, but Byakuya shot him an annoyed look, then began to drink his tea. "_Geh…he's really pissed off!" _Renji thought to himself.

"Why didn't you just tell them you were Rukia's older brother?" Ichigo asked.

"There was no need to." Was Byakuya's response.

"By the way…I didn't know you guys were…you know partners." Ichigo said. "That's why you're always so attached to Byakuya, huh Renji?"

"S-shut up!" Renji said quickly and glanced at Byakuya who didn't seem in the least affected by Ichigo's comment.

"This might work out better than we thought…" Ichigo whispered to Rukia.

"Better for whom? You're just happy because you can tease Renji." Rukia sighed.

"Yeah, but—." Ichigo was interrupted when a fork flew straight between him and Rukia and pierced through the back part of their chair. "The hell was that?!"

"It seems my fork slipped." Byakuya stated calmly.

"Slipped?! You could have taken an eye out!" Ichigo yelled, but Byakuya continued to drink his tea and ignore the orange haired boy. "I changed my mind…this might not be that good…"Ichigo muttered.

Rukia gave him a dry look, "You think?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After dinner had long and passed, everyone was going into their rooms to retire for the night.

"Ichigo, did you take some blood substitute? It was A- this time…" Rukia said.

"Yeah, I took it like an hour ago. I feel fine now." Ichigo replied.

"Hm, ok. I just wish I was the one sharing a room with you so I can prevent any problems from happening." Rukia stated.

"Yeah well, guys and girls can't share a room."

"By the way, who are your roommates?"

"I don't know yet…" Ichigo answered. "I'll know when I get there. What about you?"

"They didn't tell me either." Rukia sighed, and then saw the teacher coming to make sure everyone was in their right rooms. "Well I guess I better go…goodnight!"

"Yeah, night Rukia." Ichigo glanced at her retreating figure, and then headed for his room. He opened the door to find Renji jumping on one of the beds. "Oh great…it's you." Ichigo commented.

"Well you're not on the top of my list either!" Renji retorted and stuck out his tongue, while continuing to bounce up and down on his bed. Ichigo heard a knock on the door and when he opened it, there was Byakuya.

"What are _you _doing here?" Ichigo made a sour face.

"This is my room as well." Byakuya stated and walked inside.

"B-Byakuya-dono?!" Renji almost fell off the bed after seeing the pure blood appear.

"But, you're a chaperone. Don't you have your own room?" Ichigo asked.

"Initially, but they let me stay here, because I am Renji's legal guardian, and I told them you were a close family friend."

"Why the hell did you do that?!" Ichigo shouted. "I can't do anything to Rukia if she's not here!"

"Yes, but you can very easily leave the room without anyone knowing." Byakuya explained. "And when that happens, I'll know."

"Ughh this is freaking ridiculous! I'm going to sleep!" Ichigo announced and jumped in his bed and pulled the covers over his head.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

It was 2:30 am, and Ichigo was still awake, tossing and turning in bed for hours, struggling to get to asleep but failing. _"Maybe the effects for this one are insomnia…_" Ichigo thought to himself as he lay in bed staring at the dark ceiling. He began to wonder about that dream he had back on the bus. Especially the part where he almost confessed to Rukia, then she suddenly disappeared. He sighed and decided to get some water. He stood up and saw Renji sprawled on his bed, snoring away, while Byakuya was sleeping in his own bed, as if he had never moved, with the comforter smoothly pressed on top of him and his arms placed perfectly over it. "_Che…he even sleeps with a stick up his ass…" _Ichigo sighed to himself, and tried his best to creep out of the room without being heard. He slowly slid open the door and slipped out into the warmly lit hallway. The moment Ichigo left the room, Renji and Byakuya shot up.

"So he still decided to leave even with me here…" Byakuya observed.

"That idiot…" Renji muttered, and then yawned loudly.

"Come Renji, we're following him." Byakuya announced and put on his terry robe and slippers.

"…hm? Oh yeah sure…" Renji rubbed his eyes and collapsed back onto his bed.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"_It's really convenient to have this ice machine here…"_ Ichigo thought to himself as he put some ice in a plastic cup.

"Ichigo?" Ichigo turned around to see Rukia standing there in her pajamas and Chappy slippers also holding a cup.

"Rukia! What're you doing here?" Ichigo asked in amazement.

"I came to get some ice…" Rukia commented and pointed behind him at the ice machine.

"Oh…right." Ichigo moved aside, so Rukia could get some ice.

"Ah there they are Byakuya-dono!" Renji whispered, as the two of them hid behind a huge potted plant.

"Of course he was meeting Rukia…so predictable." Byakuya commented in a dull tone.

"What are they saying? I can't hear." Renji said.

"We're too far away. We have to get closer." Byakuya pointed out. He spotted a maid's cart that was between them and Ichigo and Rukia. "We'll go listen from behind there." Byakuya told Renji. They looked both ways and sped across the hallway behind the maid cart. However the maid cart was right in front of a door, which opened suddenly, surprising Renji who fell face first onto Byakuya's lap. It just so happens that the person on the other side of the door was the brown haired teacher from before. When she spotted the two she was shocked.

"Oh my! What are you two doing outside my room?!" She gasped. Renji struggled to get off Byakuya, not only because of the teacher, but because he thought Byakuya would probably kill him if he messed up his plan.

"N-nothing sensei! We were just uh…getting some…toilet paper!" Renji said, once he spotted the supplies on the maid cart.

"But then why were you on Byakuya-san's—."

"O-ok well uh good night sensei!" Renji interrupted the teacher and grabbed some toilet paper and bolted out of there as fast as he could, with Byakuya walking behind him.

"Those two…I should keep an eye on them." The teacher figured than returned to her room.

"Damn it…I didn't see them on the way back here…" Renji panted, still clutching onto the toilet paper rolls, as he stood in front of their room. "What about you Byakuya-dono?" Renji turned to see no one was there. "Eh? Where'd he go?"

"Where'd who go?" Renji turned around to see Ichigo standing at the door with his arms folded.

"Ichigo when'd you get here?" Renji chuckled awkwardly.

"I was getting some water." Ichigo said, and showed Renji his cup.

"Oh…I see."

"So what you got there?" Ichigo asked.

"Huh? Oh just some toilet paper…you know in case we run out…" Renji said uncomfortably.

"Right…so are you going to let me in?" Ichigo tried to push Renji aside so he could get into their room.

"Uh wait a sec—." Renji tried to say. He knew that Byakuya hadn't returned and then Ichigo would wonder where he went, and Byakuya's plan would be ruined. But it was too late; Ichigo had already pushed Renji aside and entered the room. Renji frantically followed after to see a calm Byakuya sitting in bed reading a book.

"Ah, Renji you're back with the toilet paper." Byakuya commented in a composed tone. "Oh? And where have you been Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"…I was getting a drink…I thought you guys were asleep when I left." Ichigo looked at them suspiciously.

"Well you thought wrong." Byakuya replied.

"Whatever…" Ichigo sighed. "Turn off the lights off when you're done Renji." Ichigo said and went into his bed to hopefully get some sleep. Renji on the other hand simply stood there, not sure if he should be amazed at Byakuya's quick thinking or pissed off for being put through such an ordeal without sleep.

* * *

**A/N**

I really felt like I should name this chapter the incredibly stupid spy adventures of Byakuya and Renji, or something like that…hehe well until next time~


	17. A morning meal

Hey, thanks for the reviews! I'm sorry for the late update. Oh and Happy Valentines Day!

**Chapter 17 A morning meal**

"Whatever…" Ichigo sighed. "Turn off the lights off when you're done Renji." Ichigo said and went into his bed to hopefully get some sleep. Renji on the other hand simply stood there, not sure if he should be amazed at Byakuya's quick thinking or pissed off for being put through such an ordeal without sleep.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Rukia woke up to feel the sun shining on her face from through the window.

"Hm? It's morning…Ichigo we better—." Rukia was about to say and then realized she wasn't sleeping in Ichigo's room. She was sharing a hotel room with Orihime.

"Did you say something Kuchiki-san?" Orihime who was sitting at a small table brushing her hair, asked. "Sounded like something about—."

"Ah! I was just saying it's better to eat strawberries in the morning!" Rukia lied.

"Oh, I see!" Orihime smiled. "Then we could go downstairs and get some breakfast?"

"Y-yes! Let's do that, let me just get changed." Rukia responded in a fluster and ran into the bathroom.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"What's with that Ichigo? He didn't even bother waking us up for breakfast!" Renji complained as he and Byakuya were walking to the dining area downstairs for breakfast. They just passed the teacher with the curly brown hair's room, and it just so happened that she was leaving her room, and noticed the two walking.

_"Ah! It's those two again…where's their other roommate? Hm oh well I better keep an eye on them! I wonder what they're talking about…" _The woman, whose name was Mrs. Mochizuki thought to herself as she followed them, as quietly as she could.

"Well it's not like I would have woken up…seriously I was exhausted from last night! We shouldn't do things like that so late at night…my body can't take it." Renji sighed, making Mrs. Mochizuki have to cover her mouth so she wouldn't gasp.

"This is the only opportunity we have, so we have to take full advantage of it." Byakuya replied.

"Yeah I know Byakuya-dono…but we should do it more in the day, when it won't be so obvious. I mean Ichigo almost caught us last night!"

"_'Ichigo,' wasn't that the name of their roommate?!" _Mrs. Mochizuki remembered. "_It means there's definitely something weird going on with those two! I knew they looked suspicious last night!" _She thought to herself, and then looked up to realize Byakuya and Renji had disappeared. "Oh no! Where'd they go?!" She panicked.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"What's wrong Ichigo? Aren't you hungry?" Mizuiro asked, noticing that Ichigo hadn't touched his breakfast. The two of them along with Keigo and Chad were sitting together eating the continental breakfast that the hotel served in the dining area.

"Huh? Oh…I guess I'm just not hungry…" Ichigo sighed, and stared at his food. The thing was he felt hungry, but the food didn't seem appetizing at all. He started to think it was just him since everyone else was eating it and seemed to think it was fine. He poked around at his omelet with his fork when he smelled an enticing scent. He stood up to try and see where that delectable aroma was coming from.

"Hm? Where're you going Ichigo?" Keigo asked between mouthfuls of hash browns. However, Ichigo didn't hear him and kept walking towards the scent. He ended up next to the pastries, where Orihime was standing.

"K-Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime noticed his appearance immediately. Ichigo stared intently at her hand, noticing the blood dripping from her finger. "Ah i-it's nothing! I just cut myself on accident." She reassured him with a nervous smile. Ichigo didn't seem fazed by her words though, in fact he had an almost mesmerized look in his eyes, as his eyes became much darker and he started drooling. "K-Kurosaki-kun…a-are you ok?" Orihime asked nervously, as he looked at her closer. She felt scared seeing the daunting look in his eyes.

"You…b-blood—." Suddenly Ichigo was knocked upside the head from behind. Then Rukia appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"Oh no Ichigo! You must have eaten too many pastries and fainted!" Rukia exclaimed. "I better take you to your room to rest!" She began to drag Ichigo out of the dining area, while people stared at them, leaving a confused and frightened Orihime behind.

_"Kurosaki-kun…why did he look so scary_?" Orihime thought to herself.

"Inoue-san are you ok?" Ishida came up from behind her and asked.

"Ah Ishida-kun! Y-yes…I-I'm ok…" Orihime replied, still obviously shaken up. Ishida gave her a look of concern then turned to the direction Rukia dragged Ichigo off to, and stared suspiciously.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ichigo…come on wake up!" Rukia nudged the unconscious Ichigo. She had managed to lug him all the way upstairs and into her room. He was lying collapsed on her bed, panting hard and drooling. Rukia sighed, and got a bottle of cold water from the mini fridge. She then had Ichigo sit up right, and pulled the neck of his t-shirt out and proceeded to pour the water down his shirt.

"W-what the hell are you doing?!" Ichigo was awoken from his stupor, as he sat up in shock.

"Finally…" Rukia said with satisfaction as if she had just accomplished some great deed.

"Rukia? What happened?" He asked, still feeling dizzy, and then noticed his shirt was soaked.

"Ask questions later. First, you better do something about your shirt if you're going to be sitting on my bed." Rukia said. Ichigo gave her an annoyed look, but then began to pull off his t-shirt. Rukia couldn't help but stare and quickly reminded herself to keep breathing, and look away. "Here." Rukia stuck her arm out in front of Ichigo, who just gave her a puzzled look. "Here, drink, you need some blood. This is the best time since Nii-sama doesn't know where we are."

"Yeah…but…"

"The neck isn't the only place you can drink blood from." Rukia sat down next to him and explained. "I'll show you the diagram later, for now just drink from my neck this time." Ichigo nodded in agreement and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Wait a second!" she interrupted and pulled back. "You're just going to do it? No protests or feelings of uncertainty like usual?!" Rukia gasped.

"Well you've been making it hard for me to feel uncertain." Ichigo commented, making Rukia blush.

"W-what's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean it's like…you're always the one offering to, you know get your blood sucked…so it kind of seems like you…" Ichigo trailed off.

"Seems like I what? Finish your sentence fool!" Rukia almost strangled the orange haired teen.

"Uh…n-never mind." Ichigo mumbled.

"No continue what you were saying. I want to hear it."

"Aahh I'm so hungry…I'm feeling faint all of a sudden." Ichigo tried to look as if he was about to collapse.

"Stop faking! You can last for a few minutes to finish what you were saying!" Rukia shouted.

"I forgot what I was going to say, so…" Ichigo explained and tried to hint that it was blood drinking time and moved closer to Rukia, who moved farther away from him.

"Well then until you remember what you were going to say, no blood for you." Rukia said and folded her arms and turned away. Ichigo was baffled at how much this bothered her and he was getting desperate, but he wasn't about to give up his pride.

"Rukia…fine I don't need your freaking blood anyways!" Ichigo retorted angrily. "I'll just go to sleep!" He said and wrapped himself in the covers.

"This isn't even your bed, so stop getting all cozy under the covers!" Rukia commanded.

"Well you always do this back at home anyways!"

"What are you talking about?! I have never gone into your bed shirtless!" Rukia defended, and then blushed at the implications of what she had just said.

"A-anyways…" Ichigo tried to change the awkward atmosphere. "…uh good night."

"No! Not good night, its morning! Ichigo…get out of my bed!" Rukia got off the bed and tried to pull Ichigo off from the side of the bed, but he was too heavy. She grabbed his arm and pulled. "Get…up!" She said between gritted teeth. She stop pulling for the second that Ichigo decided to pull his arm back, and he ended up pulling Rukia onto the bed and rolling right on top of her because of the force of the pull. "W-what do you think you're doing Ichigo?!" Rukia blushed, as she stared up at Ichigo.

"It was an accid—." Ichigo stopped himself from telling her it was a mishap, and decided to use this as a chance. "Rukia, I…" Ichigo started, but then stared into Rukia's eyes, and found himself at a loss for words. He decided to give up and was about to get up, when Rukia stopped him. She held onto Ichigo's arm. He stared back at her, and slowly moved his face closer to hers. She could feel his breath on her mouth as their lips almost touched, when Ichigo was suddenly reminded of the dream from before. He quickly got off the bed and turned away. Rukia was…surprised to say the least.

"Ichigo…I-I'm sorry, I didn't—." Rukia sat up.

"No. Don't apologize…" Ichigo turned around and sat back on the bed. "I just…I have to tell you something." He slowly looked up into her eyes. Rukia blushed lightly, taken aback by his gaze. "Rukia, I lo…" Ichigo began, but then felt his head spinning wildly and then everything went dark.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Ichigo awoke to the taste of blood on the tip of his tongue. He opened his eyes to see Rukia's wrist dripping blood into his mouth. He blinked, finding this scene to be a bit strange.

"R-Rukia? What are you…?"

"Don't talk, just drink." Rukia said in a soft voice.

"But why'd you cut yourself?!" Ichigo gasped and sat up in a panicked flurry.

"To give you blood of course. You fainted before so it's not like you could use your fangs." Rukia explained.

"Oh…" Was Ichigo's intelligent reply. He glanced at her wrist. "…You cut yourself, so I could have some blood?"

"Isn't that quite obvious?" Rukia said in a haughty manner. "As your dhampir partner I can't just let you die." Ichigo smirked.

"Rukia…" Ichigo held her wrist in his hand and licked off some blood. "I love you."

"…w-what?" Rukia asked with a huge blush on her face.

"Uh…" Ichigo suddenly panicked. "I-I said I love…y-you…ukuleles!" He lied, and then mentally slapped himself for chickening out and using such a pathetic excuse. "I mean I think there's going to be a ukulele concert tonight so that's why I was…just mentioning…it…"

"O-Oh…ok?" Rukia gave him a quizzical look as she tried to steady her heart beat.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"They're not here?!" Renji gasped. He and Byakuya had just found out from Keigo, Mizuiro and Orihime that Ichigo and Rukia had left earlier. "Well do you guys know where they went?"

"Hm no, I think it had something to do with Ichigo eating too many pastries and passing out…" Mizuiro answered. "So Kuchiki-san took him to his room to rest."

"His room?" Renji turned to Byakuya. "Uh well thanks guys." He said, and then he and Byakuya walked out into the hallway.

"It's impossible they can't be in our room, we would have seen them coming." Byakuya said. "Besides they're not that foolish as they know we both have entrance to that room."

"Then the only other option is Rukia's room." Renji stated. "Or well, they could be in a closet…since they seem to like those so much…"

"We'll start with Rukia's room. Who's her roommate?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So… are you going to go to the ukulele concert?" Rukia asked Ichigo as the two walked towards the elevator.

"Huh? Oh…well actually I—."

"Aha! There you guys are!" Renji shouted from the elevator that had just opened.

"S-saved…" Ichigo said to himself. "Man I've never been so glad to see you two." Ichigo said to Renji and Byakuya.

"Where have you been?" Byakuya asked.

"Yeah…like we're really going to tell you." Ichigo gave Byakuya a dry look, and then walked past him into the elevator.

"Not so fast!" Renji said and slid in front of Ichigo, blocking the elevator's entrance.

"God you guys are so annoying…don't you ever give it a rest?" Ichigo sighed. "What are you planning on actually doing? Because if you're trying to keep me and Rukia apart, you're not doing such a hot job." He pointed out and smirked. Renji growled at him.

"Renji let him go." Byakuya said.

"Eh? But Byakuya-dono…"

"Yeah, see? Your master is telling you to let me go. Good job dog boy!" Ichigo joked and patted Renji on the head. Renji pushed Ichigo's hand away and moved away from the elevator. "Hey Rukia…Rukia? Hm? Where'd she go?" He looked around, and Renji did as well. Byakuya on the other hand walked past Ichigo into the elevator, then shut the doors before the two could follow. "Where's he going? Ah who cares! Now where'd Rukia disappear to?"

"Dude didn't you see? Rukia was in the elevator Byakuya-dono was in." Renji said.

"What? No she wasn't…why would she…?" Ichigo gave a puzzled look. He quickly headed for the stairs. As soon as Ichigo had gone, Reni scoffed.

"Good, now I have more of a chance of finding her." The red head said to himself with a smug expression.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"W-what's going on?" Rukia yelled out into the darkness. A blind fold was removed from her eyes, and that's when she realized she was trapped.

* * *

**A/N**

Dun, dun…dun! Ciffhanger~what will become of Rukia?


	18. A Dare

Hey, thanks for the reviews. Well…enjoy~

**Chapter 18 A Dare**

"W-what's going on?" Rukia yelled out into the darkness. A blind fold was removed from her eyes, and that's when she realized she was trapped.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"_There's something suspicious about Kurosaki…"_ Ishida thought to himself. "_He was acting weird at breakfast…and also that other time during that storm." _Ishida turned the corner and ended up almost crashing into Renji. "Ah excuse me Abarai." Ishida said.

"Ishida? What're you doing here? Oh and did you see Rukia come this way?" Renji asked.

"You don't know where she is?" Ishida adjusted his glasses.

"No…but I'm pretty sure she's on this floor. She just suddenly disappeared."

"She's not with Kurosaki?"

"Heh, nope." Renji smirked. "I lied and told him she went downstairs."

"Right…" Ishida didn't even want to bother to ask why Renji would do such a thing. "Well she could be in her room. Isn't this the floor it's on?"

"Oh yeah! Let's go check there first." Renji announced and began heading down the hall, then stopped walking and turned back around. "Uh…which room is hers?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"_Che stupid Renji…there's no way she went in the same elevator as Byakuya without me seeing…but how could she leave so suddenly like that…hmm seems weird."_ Ichigo thought to himself as he sat down at the top of the stairs. Just then he heard some footsteps behind him, and turned around to see Hanataro pushing a cart towards the elevator. However he ended up tripping and knocking his forehead on the edge of the cart, and falling on the floor. Ichigo sweat dropped.

"Hanataro, you ok?" He walked up to the short man and helped him up.

"Ah I-Ichigo-san! Thank you!" Hanataro rubbed his forehead.

"What're you doing here?"

"I got a part time job here." Hanataro explained. Ichigo sighed, and then noticed Hanataro was wearing the female maid uniform.

"Uh…why are you wearing a dress?"

"They said they'd only let me work here, if I wore this." Hanataro said, with an innocent expression. "I wonder why…"

"They're obviously taking advantage of you..." Ichigo muttered.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Excuse me…but what is this?" Rukia blinked and looked at all the eager faces looking back at her.

"Isn't that obvious? It's a girl's only party!" Chizuru explained excitedly. Rukia just stared, not understanding the reason for such an event.

"Well all of us girls decided we needed some time away from the boys. Don't you agree Kuchiki-san?" Orihime smiled. All the girl students who had come on the trip were there. Rukia was dumbfounded, as she had never been in a room alone with so many girls before.

"Sorry for the extreme method of getting you here." Tatsuki said as she cracked her knuckles. "But we thought you wouldn't come if we just invited you."

"Oh…" Rukia nodded and looked down.

"Don't worry about that idiot Ichigo and those other guys…they can last a few hours without you." Tatsuki smirked.

"Yay! Let's eat curry cupcakes!" Orihime danced around excitedly, as everyone else's' faces went sour.

"Uh…we just ate, so how about we do something else?" Momo suggested, and the others nodded in agreement.

"Aw ok." Orihime agreed. Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"That must be the room service I ordered!" Momo exclaimed, making Orihime frown. Momo sent a guilty expression towards Orihime, and then ran to the door. She opened it, and there was Hanataro and Ichigo standing on the other side with a silver platter on a cart.

"R-room service is here!" Hanataro announced nervously. Momo smiled in delight and opened the door wider so Hanataro could push the cart into the room. Ichigo thought he should wait outside, and then realized that he recognized all the girls in the room. He walked in, and saw Rukia sitting on the bed next to Orihime and Tatsuki looking at the cart of food.

"Rukia?" He stared.

"I-Ichigo?!" Rukia looked up and gasped. "What are you doing here…?"

"I could ask you the same thing…and why'd you just disappear like that? You could've said if you were leaving." Ichigo frowned.

"But," Rukia sighed. "I didn't—."

"Hey no boys aloud!" Chizuru yelled, and started trying to push Ichigo out.

"Hey! But I'm still talking here!" Ichigo tried to block Chizuru. "Rukia, look I need to talk to you about something! Meet me at the water fountain downstairs at…uh at 2:30!" He managed to say before Chizuru forced him out the door.

"Oh and we're not going to be done here by 2:30." Chizuru told Ichigo.

"Why not? That gives you like 4 hours…" Ichigo replied, and then noticed Chizuru's annoyed expression. "Well then what time are you going to be finished?"

"Hmph, never! So don't bother waiting!" Chizuru snapped and slammed the door in Ichigo's face.

"What's her problem?" Ichigo grumbled. "Seriously. If anything I'm the one who should be mad at her! She's the one who took my seat next to Rukia, and she didn't even apologize for her stupid mistake! Right Hanataro? Hanataro…? Oh great they took him too!" The door opened again.

"Oh yeah, and here take this with you." Chizuru pushed Hanataro out. "He's cute…but he's still a guy."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"OMG!" A girl with brown wavy hair, named Miyuki poked Rukia's arm.

"Y-yes?" Rukia glanced at the excited girl nervously.

"Kurosaki-kun so likes you Rukia-chan!" She squealed.

"Hah?" Rukia just looked at the girl, unsure if she had heard correctly.

"Yeah! Isn't it obvious? So are you two like…dating?" another girl, Hikari asked, as almost all the girls surrounded Rukia, waiting for her answer. A few months ago, Orihime would have probably been going along with the rest of them, saying that if Rukia likes Ichigo as well then the girls "win" and all that, but now it didn't seem like much of a win for Orihime, since she knew that only one of them could have Ichigo in the end.

"So do you _like_ him?" Miyuki pestered.

"Of course, we're friends!" Rukia put on her fake smile.

"No, I mean…_love _him?"

"Ha ha…Ichigo and I are just friends!" Rukia tried to laugh it off.

"Ehh…" The girls frowned, obviously unhappy with Rukia's answer. They sighed and went towards the cart to feed on the various appetizers. Rukia sighed and looked out the window. It didn't matter what her feelings for Ichigo were, they couldn't be together in any kind of non-platonic way anyways.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Ichigo never thought four hours could be so long. Only 10 minutes had passed and he felt like it had been more than four hours already. "The hell am I supposed to do for so long…?" He sighed.

"You could go in the hot springs." Hanataro suggested.

"Yeah, I guess. Wanna come Hanataro?"

"Ah s-sorry…I still have work." Hanataro bowed, and wheeled his cart towards the elevator.

"Oh…well see ya." Ichigo waved as Hanataro went into the elevator. "Now what…? I guess I can go myself." He figured and began walking forward when he saw Renji and Ishida walking down the hall. "You guys?"

"Ichigo!" Renji gasped. "Uh we were just…"

"If you're still looking for Rukia, don't bother. I found her; she was at some 'girls only party.'"

"Oh…" Renji sighed.

"Well then, it seems my work here is done." Ishida said and turned to leave.

"Hey wait…do you guys want to go to the hot springs?" Ichigo asked the two. Both Renji and Ishida gave him weird looks. "D-don't take it the wrong way you idiots! I just thought since Rukia's busy…"

"So you were planning to go to the hot springs with Kuchiki-san?" Ishida questioned.

"No...W-why would we go there together?!" Ichigo blushed.

"Calm down Kurosaki, it was just a question." Ishida said.

"Ugh forget it…I'll go myself." Ichigo said in an exasperated tone and started to walk away. He sighed and pushed the elevator button, then noticed Renji and Ishida standing beside him. "What the hell?"

"I never said I wasn't going to come." Ishida replied.

"Yeah and besides I can't say no to a good soak!" Renji grinned.

"You guys…" Ichigo sighed. "Really piss me off!"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Uh…truth!"

"Hm, ok. Do you like Hitsugaya-kun as more than a friend?" Miyuki asked. "And remember that if you lie or back out you have to pay everyone here $20,000!"

"W-what?! Since when was that decided?" Momo gasped.

"Since right now!" Miyuki smirked proudly.

"But I don't have that much money…" Momo frowned.

"Then you better not lie!" Miyuki and Hikari said in unison.

"Mou…that's not fair!" Momo whined.

"Yeah seriously guys, I've never heard of such an extreme version of truth or dare." Tatsuki sweat dropped.

"Ugh fine…you don't have to pay money, but if you back out of telling a truth you have to do a dare and vice-versa!"

"Fine…that seems fair." Momo sighed. "So, what's my dare?"

"Ooh I have one! How about you go into the hotel kitchen and get us some snacks!" Orihime suggested.

"Ehh…that's sounds pretty boring…" Hikari commented.

"No! Its sounds like a great dare! Please let me do it!" Momo begged.

"Fine fine…you got off easy this time…" Miyuki sighed and waved her off. While Momo ran off to get the snacks, the girls turned to Rukia with evil grins.

"So…Rukia-chan, truth or dare?" Chizuru asked.

"Huh? Ah no…I'm not playing, I'm just going to watch." The short girl explained with a small smile.

"Sorry, but that's not an option! Everyone in this room is automatically in the game!" Miyuki said.

"B-but I don't…"

"Truth or dare, Rukia-chan? Which is it?!" Chizuru interrupted. Rukia sighed and found she had no choice but to decide between the two options. She had never played this game before, but from her observations, Rukia had noticed that when the 'truth' option is chosen, she'll probably be asked a question about who she has feelings for in a romantic sense, in other words they'll probably ask about Ichigo. The other option, 'dare' seemed like a safer opportunity as it only required her to go and get food. "C'mon Rukia-chan! This isn't a life or death decision! Just choose one." Hikari's voice interrupted Rukia's thoughts.

"Uh, I'll choose dare!" Rukia exclaimed, confident in her decision. All the girls were a bit surprised, but then a sinister aura filled the room. "_Wait! What is this….?" _Rukia thought to herself immediately sensing the disturbing atmosphere. _"Did I perhaps…dig my own grave?"_

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"This is just…I really feel like I can't do this." Rukia mumbled.

"If you don't, you'll have to do a truth!" Hikari replied.

"Hm…" Rukia thought about it. "Fine, I'll do it."

"Ok, great! So according to our secret source, Kurosaki-kun, Abarai-kun, and Ishida-kun are in the hot springs right now! So all you have to do is sneak in and take a few pictures." Miyuki squealed.

"Secret source? You mean you have someone follow other people around when you say so?" Rukia asked.

"T-that doesn't matter right now! Just go do it! Oh and here take this camera and wear this." Miyuki shoved a camera into Rukia's hand and gave her a pink sweater with bunny ears on the hood and pushed her towards the door.

"Why do I have to wear this?" Rukia stared at the cutesy sweater, trying to hide her obvious love for the bunny ear design.

"In case they catch you, you can put the hood on and run so they won't recognize you." Miyuki explained.

"A-are you sure, about making Kuchiki-san do this?" Orihime asked.

"Oh come on!" Hikari dragged Orihime aside. "Don't you like Kurosaki-kun? This way we can finally see if underneath those clothes lays a hot body." Hikari tried to reason with the auburn girl. Orihime didn't say anything and just blushed.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"He he suckers! Now I can just leave!" Rukia laughed to herself. "Or I wish I could…I can't just leave…that would be rude, especially since they took so much effort to include me." She sighed. "Fine, I'll just sneak in, take a few shots, and get out. They'll never know I was there." She concluded and headed for the hot springs.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ahh this feels good." Renji breathed a sigh of contentment as he descended into the steamy waters.

"Hey…do you guys hear something?" Ichigo looked around suspiciously.

"Yeah, it sounded like it was coming from that direction." Ishida said, as he put a towel on and stepped out of the water. There was shuffling coming from behind a large rock. A figure quickly rushed out from behind the rock in an attempt to escape, but tripped and fell down.

"Hanataro?" Ichigo got out of the water as well. "What're you doing sneaking around? I thought you had work?"

"I'm sorry! Those girls that Rukia-san was with…they asked me where you were, and so I came to check if you were here, but then you came in and I didn't know how to leave, without it seeming strange!" Hanataro bowed continuously in apology.

"C-calm down…" Ichigo sighed. "But why would they ask where I am? Are they going to send an axe murderer to get rid of me or something…?"

"Excuse me, but…" Ishida interjected.

"Ah excuse me!" Hanataro bowed to Ishida. "My name is Hanataro Yamada desu."

"Ishida Uryuu." Ishida bowed politely in return.

"I don't know if you remember me, but it's nice to see you again Abarai Renji-san." Hanataro said to Renji.

"Huh? O-oh yeah…same here." Renji replied.

"Now that the introductions are over with…" Ichigo said. "Why the hell do those people want to know where I am? Did they tell you anything Hanataro?"

"N-no…sorry."

"Heh, looks like you have your own bunch of stalkers." Renji joked.

"Shut up." Ichigo grumbled, as they headed for the changing rooms. Suddenly there was a flash from behind them. They quickly turned around, to see where it came from. "Hey…who's there?" Ichigo shouted out, but there was no response.

"_Gah! How do you turn off the stupid flash?!" _Rukia panicked, as she flustered with the camera. She peeked through the leaves of the bush she was hiding behind to see if they had caught her. They were looking around, but they hadn't spotted her yet. She held her breath in. "_I'll just wait for them to leave…" _She figured, then noticed that they didn't plan to leave. The four of them were searching around as if they were cops searching for a criminal on the loose. "_Great…" _Rukia sighed. "_Maybe I should take some more pictures…just have to turn the flash off." _Rukia thought to herself and fumbled with the camera, and ended up dropping it. Rukia gasped, before she could shut her mouth.

"Hey over there!" Ichigo shouted and bolted towards the bush Rukia was hiding behind.

"_Damn it!" _Rukia cursed to herself, she shoved her hood on, managed to grab the camera, and ran past the four guys. She was almost to the door, when she felt someone grab her unzipped jacket from behind.

"Hey, stop!" Ichigo said, as he held onto her sweater. Rukia managed to slip out of the jacket and dashed away without being seen. She thanked her dhampir abilities for this, as she dashed back into the hotel. She panted hard as she headed to the hotel room, not wanting to take any chances of being caught.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Damn…he got away." Renji sighed.

"Or she." Ichigo added as he studied the rabbit ear sweater in his hands.

* * *

**A/N**

Ok I just want to say sorry to anyone who was hoping something serious was actually going to happen to Rukia from the getting trapped thing. (Sigh) I just couldn't make it something intense…Anyways…do people still play truth or dare anymore, or is that just really cliché?


	19. A bunny eared sweater

Hey, thanks for the reviews. I really couldn't think of a good title for this chapter…

**Chapter 19 A bunny eared sweater**

"Damn…he got away." Renji sighed.

"Or she." Ichigo added as he studied the rabbit ear sweater in his hands.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"I can't believe you actually did it!" Miyuki squealed excitedly. Rukia couldn't do anything but sit quietly, still trying to process what exactly it was that she had just done. "How many pictures did you get?! Did they look hot?! C'mon let's see the camera!" Rukia sighed and handed Miyuki the camera. Most of them grouped around Miyuki with wide eyes, as she turned on the camera and clicked on the picture viewing symbol on the tiny screen. They were hoping to see some seriously good stuff. However after clicking through a few pictures, they all began frowning.

"Mou...Rukia-chan these are all so blurry!" Chizuru complained.

"Why do you even care anyway?" Tatsuki asked.

"I was hoping to see some…forbidden fantasies!" Chizuru had sparkles in her eyes as she gazed off into the distance, making Tatsuki sweat drop.

"Oh wait, here's a good one!" Hikari gasped. "Dang I did not know Kurosaki-kun had that kind of body!" Immediately, both Rukia and Orihime's ears perked up. All the other girls rushed up to see and proceeded to ogle at the picture, while Rukia and Orihime just sat watching them.

"_The one clear picture had to be of Ichigo…" _Rukia grumbled to herself. "_I mean it's not like I haven't seen him shirtless…but wait! What if there's more to see in that picture?! I didn't even get a chance to look at them and just started taking pictures…Well it doesn't really matter—they don't have to stare so intently!" _

"Ooh now this is the stuff!" Miyuki exclaimed happily as she clicked to the next picture, only making Rukia more and more distressed.

"Hey is that really Ishida Uryuu from the crafts club?!" One girl gasped, and Orihime found herself more interested to see the pictures, but she didn't really know why.

"Woah, now I'm even more curious to see how far down Abarai-kun's tattoos go!" Hikari giggled along with a few other girls.

"_Oh god…"_ Rukia thought to herself, feeling like she had betrayed the three guys in some way. "Um, so where's Hinamori-san?" Rukia asked, desperately trying to take their attention away from the pictures.

"Ah, after she finished her dare," Orihime held up a bag of cookies, "She went to go meet up with Hitsugaya-kun."

"She _so_ likes him!" Hikari snickered.

"Oh I see…well speaking of meeting up with people…I have to meet up with…with Ukitake-sensei. I had to talk to him about this one assignment…" Rukia figured using a teacher would be a plausible excuse.

"Aww…do you really have to go? We didn't even finish our game of truth or dare." Miyuki frowned.

"Yeah! Let's at least finish the game, ne Rukia-chan?" Chizuru begged.

"Well I…ok." Rukia gave in, deciding that it really couldn't get any worse.

"Cool. Ok, so Rukia now you can ask someone else."

"Ok, uh Inoue, truth or dare?" Rukia looked to the auburn haired girl.

"Hmm I choose truth."

"Oooh Rukia-chan, let me ask her the question!" Miyuki asked, well more like demanded.

"Sure." Rukia said.

"Orihime-chan, out of the three guys in the pictures, Kurosaki-kun, Ishida-kun, and Abarai-kun, who do you think is the hottest?" Miyuki asked, with an evil smirk.

"E-eh?!" Orihime blushed. "I-I don't really…"

"Hm? Can't do it? Ok, how about a dare then?" Miyuki suggested.

"O-Ok…." Orihime agreed.

"I dare you to rate the three guys on their hotness level!" Miyuki exclaimed.

"Seriously…is that all you can think about?" Tatsuki sighed.

"Well, uh yeah! In case you haven't noticed there aren't many hot guys in our class." Miyuki replied. "Well then why don't you answer for her, ne Tatsuki-chan?"

"Uh, sorry but I'd rather not…" Tatsuki rejected, and then looked away from Orihime shamefully. "I'm sorry Orihime…I can't save you this time."

"T-Tatsuki-chan…" Orihime pretty much teared up.

"Geez it's just a question." Hikari sighed.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"I wonder who this belongs to…" Ichigo still held onto the sweater as he, Renji, and Ishida were sitting in Ichigo, and Renji's hotel room.

"Yeah and what exactly were they doing?" Renji added.

"Well they appeared to be taking pictures, hence the flashes." Ishida concluded.

"Ok…but why the hell would anyone want to take pictures of us?" Ichigo asked, bringing the trio to another stump in their quest to find the owner of the bunny eared sweater.

"Hey could it be that…we've been mistaken for a popular band or something?" Renji said.

"Yeah right…we don't even look like any bands that I've heard of…" Ichigo sighed.

"Why else would anyone want to take pictures of us…unless it's some creepy stalker or something…" Renji's eyes darted to and fro, as if a stalker was right behind him ready to pounce.

"A creepy stalker wearing a small cutesy bunny ear sweater?" Ichigo arched his eyebrow.

"Yeah man, that's classic stalker clothing!" Renji explained, as if he thoroughly believed every word he was spewing out.

"Abarai," Ishida adjusted his glasses. " I highly doubt—."

"Haven't you heard about the animal hoods?! They're this group who wear sweaters with different animal ears on them, and they stalk random groups of people, mostly teenage guys!"

"Dude…seriously, you're just making that up aren't you?" Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"No! I saw it on the news! I really did!" Renji defended.

"Uh huh…sure." Ichigo sighed. "So you got any ideas Ishida?"

"Well it's obviously a young girl, considering the size and construction of this sweater." Ishida took the sweater from Ichigo and examined it. "Hm? What's this?" He scanned the sweater's label to see initials printed on them. "A. T."

"A.T.? Who's that? Do we know someone with those initials?"

"Hmm...Well there's Tatsuki. Since her last name's Arisawa." Ichigo pointed out. "But that really doesn't look like something she'd own."

"Well we might as well go ask her." Ishida said.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"…This isn't fun anymore!" Miyuki whined. "Rukia-chan was the only one who had the guts to go through with her dare…the rest of you are just a bunch of chickens!"

"So does this mean…we're done?" Rukia asked.

"Yeah I guess…I think I'll go to the hot springs." Miyuki sighed.

"Me too." Hikari, Chizuru and a bunch of the other girls agreed.

"Ok, we'll see you!" Orihime waved to them as they left, and was about to shut the door, when she saw Ichigo, Ishida, and Renji heading towards her. "K-kurosaki-kun!"

"Hey Inoue…is Tatsuki here?" Ichigo said with a look of purpose on his face, barely sparing the auburn haired girl a glance.

"Huh? Oh yeah…" Orihime moved aside so the three of them could come inside the room. As soon as they entered, the saw Tatsuki and Rukia sitting and picking at the remains of the food platters.

"Ichigo, what are you guys doing here?" Rukia asked as soon as she spotted the trio.

"Rukia!" Ichigo quickly realized that the four hours were pretty much up and it looked as if the other girls were gone. Finally Rukia was his again! Or so he thought…until Renji snapped him back to reality.

"_Hello_ Ichigo? Anyone there?" the red head waved a hand in front of Ichigo's face.

"Huh? Oh yeah…we have to ask something to Tatsuki." He remembered and faced Tatsuki, who just blinked at the three of them, having no idea of what they could possibly want with her. "Is this your sweater?" Ichigo put the sweater in front of Tatsuki. The tomboy looked at Ichigo then the sweater, and realization hit her, along with Rukia and Orihime.

"Oh that…? No way, why would I own a sweater like that?" Tatsuki answered truthfully. "Why would you even think that?"

"Well because it has the initials A.T. printed on the label." Ishida explained.

"Those are Miyuki-chan's little sister's initials, because Miyuki-chan accidentally took her sweater in her luggage." Orihime whispered to Rukia.

"Oh…" Rukia nodded. She wondered how to get out of this predicament, when in came Byakuya. "Nii-sama?!" Rukia blinked at the sudden arrival of her brother.

"Byakuya-dono what are you doing here?" Renji asked.

"I saw that the party was over." Byakuya merely stated.

"Wait—you knew about the party?" Ichigo asked. "That's why you just left that time instead of trying to look for Rukia?"

"I was informed by the hosts beforehand." Byakuya said.

"Why would they tell Byakuya?" Ichigo grumbled. "And besides that, how'd you get in just now without a room key?"

"A teacher, I believe by the name of Mrs. Mochizuki, gave me her executive key, that allows access to any of the rooms assigned to a student from your school."

"Of course…" Ichigo sighed. "What else? Did they give you the presidential suite as well?"

"They offered it to me, but I refused." Byakuya replied.

"Oh for the love of…" Ichigo did a face palm.

"Well Ichigo, it is Nii-sama after all." Rukia commented.

"Like that's an excuse…" Ichigo said dryly.

"Hey, what about the stalker?" Renji reminded them.

"It seems we've hit a dead end." Ishida observed.

"What's this about a stalker?" Byakuya questioned.

"Ah well…someone was taking pictures of me, Ishida, and Ichigo in the hot springs. Oh and they were wearing this sweater." Renji showed the bunny eared clothing to Byakuya.

"This sweater's design…" Byakuya said. "It's not bad." Everyone sweat dropped, while Rukia admired her brother's "good taste."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hey, so Miyuki what're you going to do with all those pictures?" Hikari asked, as the girls were heading to the hot springs.

"I'm going to send them to every girl in school of course!"

"But then all the girls will be after them." Hikari pointed out.

"Yeah, I mean it's not like those three are exactly popular. This way they'll be more liked, and then they'll be so thankful to me." Miyuki laughed haughtily.

"Right…but what about Rukia-chan and Orihime-chan?"

"Well I think those two had plenty of times to reveal their feelings to Kurosaki-kun. Plus if he can be so easily swayed by a few fan girls then he isn't worth it to begin with!"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

It was almost dinnertime, and Ichigo, Renji, and Ishida were still clueless as to who the 'stalker' was and had no leads to go on. The three of them, along with Rukia and Orihime were sitting in the hotel's lobby. Tatsuki had gone to join the other girls, and Byakuya had more "important business" to attend to.

"How about we just forget about it for now, and go eat some dinner?" Rukia suggested, with Orihime and Tatsuki readily nodding in agreement.

"What do you mean forget about it? I think it's a little concerning that there's a possible stalker after us!" Ichigo replied, quite aggravated that this didn't bother Rukia a bit more.

"Oh so now you believe there's a stalker." Renji muttered.

"Ok, look it wasn't a stalker." Rukia sighed.

"K-Kuchiki-san!" Orihime gave the shorter girl a worried look.

"No, it's ok Inoue." Rukia comforted her, and then turned to the boys. "It was me that time, wearing that sweater."

"W-what?" Ichigo and Renji gasped.

"Kuchiki-san…w-why would you…?" Ishida tried to conceal a blush.

"It was a dare…" She answered.

"A what?" Renji blinked.

"What was it called…that game?" Rukia wondered out loud.

"W-We were playing truth or dare!" Orihime blurted out.

"I-I see…" Ichigo looked at the floor, trying to take this all in. "So does that mean…" He, along with Ishida and Renji stared at Rukia, then at each other.

"D-did you see anything?!" Renji shouted.

"N-no!" Rukia defended. "I swear!"

"Are…are you _sure_?" Ichigo asked, with a slight blush.

"Yes! Besides not like there's anything to see with you anyways…" She replied with a smug grin.

"And what's that supposed to mean?!" Ichigo scowled.

"Well glad the was sorted out…" Renji sighed in relief. "Man I'm starving, can we go eat dinner now?"

"…Yeah let's go." Ichigo agreed.

"Are there any good restaurants here?" Renji asked.

"Ukitake-sensei said there was a list of school approved restaurants that we could go to." Rukia noted. "Ah I think I have the handout here somewhere…" She reached into her pocket.

"Ehh…there's probably a lot of stupid kiddy restaurants." Renji pouted, while Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"I found it!" Rukia held up the list. "Ok…there's a place called Fluffy's pizza."

"That sounds like a place for dogs to eat." Renji scoffed.

"Wow, then it's perfect for you isn't it?" Ichigo smirked.

"Ok…I was asking for that..." Renji sighed.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hello! Welcome to Fluffy's! How many in your party tonight?" A woman with poorly done dyed red locks asked.

"Uh just the 5 of us." Ichigo replied.

"Ok!" She said with wide eyes and an even wider smile, as she grabbed some menus off the rack near the cash register area. "Come right this way." She gestured for them to follow her. They walked through a hallway, and were guided to a small room with a few other tables occupied with small groups of people. She motioned toward a rectangular table that was near the window, off to the left of the room. They all sat down, and the lady handed them their menus. "Your server will be with you shortly. Hope you enjoy your meal." She gave one last toothy smile and walked off. Ichigo scanned his menu then glanced at Rukia, who was sitting next to him. She was studying the menu so seriously, and then suddenly looked up at Ichigo, who quickly looked away.

"Hey Ichigo…" She whispered. "Do you feel like you can still eat…? I don't think your taste for human food will go away all at once…"

"Oh yeah…" Ichigo remembered the incident at breakfast. "Uh actually about that, just now I—." Ichigo tried to say, when their waitress came up to them.

"Hey, I'm Kat, and I'll be your waitress." A woman, in her early twenties, asked. She had dyed black hair with blonde high lights in a messy bun. "Can I start you off with some drinks?"

"Uh yeah, we'll just have water." Ichigo said, partly distracted.

"Sure." She smiled and walked off.

"Hey but I wanted something else…" Renji frowned.

"Yeah and where's the money to pay for it?" Ichigo retorted, Renji didn't answer, but instead looked away and grumbled.

"So what should we eat?" Orihime asked

"Gee I don't know how about a pizza?" Renji answered sarcastically.

"There's no need to be rude Renji." Rukia slapped him over the head.

"I think Inoue-san meant what kind of pizza?" Ishida added. "Plus there are appetizers and other options.

"Oh…well how about the…" Renji browsed through the menu, when his phone started ringing. He fished it out of his pocket to see the caller was Byakuya. "Hello? Byakuya-dono?" He got up and walked away from the table to take the call.

"Let's hope his master calls him home, so we don't have to deal with him." Ichigo joked, earning him a light punch in the arm from Rukia.

"Oh right, Ichigo…what were you going to say before?" Rukia whispered.

"Uh…I…" Ichigo looked away, as if he was ashamed. "When I give you the signal…say you need to go to the bathroom, I can't really tell you here." Rukia gave him a strange look, but agreed.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Byakuya-dono, what happened? Hm? Step outside?" Renji wondered what Byakuya meant by this, as he opened the door to see Byakuya standing there, with Mrs. Mochizuki standing behind him. "What's going on…?" Renji blinked.

"Apparently she thinks she can follow me around since she let me borrow her executive key." Byakuya stated.

"Couldn't you just give it back to her?" Renji suggested, while glancing at Mrs. Mochizuki who was standing too far away to hear what they were saying, but had a curious look on her face.

"Renji have you forgotten the plan?" Byakuya asked, and Renji just gave him a confused look. "The executive key is necessary to get into rooms lest Rukia and that Kurosaki Ichigo decide to sneak off into Rukia's room."

"Oh, right…but why'd you come here?" Renji asked, and before Byakuya could answer, Mrs. Mochizuki sneezed quite loudly, and they realized that they could no longer continue their private conversation. "Uh…hi Mochizuki-sensei." Renji greeted.

"Oh Abarai-kun! What a pleasant surprise. Say, did you two plan to eat here together…_alone_?" Mrs. Mochizuki looked like a reported digging up the latest gossip on famous celebrities as she questioned the two.

"Uh no…" Renji tried to explain. "We were just—."

"Oh I see!" Mrs. Mochizuki interrupted.

"See what?" Renji blinked. "I didn't even say anything—."

"Ah look! There's your room mate Kurosaki-kun and his little friends~" Mrs. Mochizuki exclaimed, completely ignoring Renji. "How about we all eat together? Doesn't that sound like a great idea?!"

"But that's what I was trying to…oh forget it…" Renji sighed, noticing Mrs. Mochizuki already heading inside. He then turned to Byakuya.

"This is a good opportunity to check on that Kurosaki brat." Byakuya stated and followed Mrs. Mochizuki inside with a reluctant Renji not far behind.

* * *

**A/N**

Yes I know this chapter barely had any IchiRuki in it…but that's just because I'm saving the good stuff for later…well I hope it'll be good stuff. Well…that's all for now, bye-mon~


	20. A restaurant fiasco

Hey, sorry for the late update, for some reason this chapter took me longer than usual to write...oh and as always thanks so much to you lovely reviewers!

**Chapter 20 A restaurant fiasco**

"Ah look! There's your room mate Kurosaki-kun and his little friends~" Mrs. Mochizuki exclaimed, completely ignoring Renji. "How about we all eat together? Doesn't that sound like a great idea?!"

"But that's what I was trying to…oh forget it…" Renji sighed, noticing Mrs. Mochizuki already heading inside. He then turned to Byakuya. "What should we do Byakuya-dono?"

"This is a good opportunity to check on that Kurosaki brat." Byakuya stated and followed Mrs. Mochizuki inside with a reluctant Renji not far behind.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"And that's how it is…so if we could have a bigger table?" Rukia finished explaining to the waitress about their two new additions to the table.

"I'll see what I can do." The waitress, Kat sighed, and walked off to check if there were any other open tables.

"I can't believe you did this." Ichigo muttered to Renji.

"Did what? I didn't do anything!" Renji defended.

"You just had to invite your master along didn't you? And he decided to bring a teacher as well!"

"I didn't invite him! He just showed up, it's not my fault."

"Does he have a tracking device on one of us or something…?" Ichigo sighed.

"Ha-ha of course not…" Renji chuckled a bit, but then stopped and thought about it seriously, as Ichigo rolled his eyes. Finally they saw Kat return.

"We don't have any free tables left on this floor, but there are some available upstairs. Is that ok?" Kat asked. They all looked at each other and agreed, assuming it would be good enough.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Have you guys noticed something weird?" Ichigo asked.

"You mean like how besides us, there' only little girls here?" Renji answered. They had found a bigger table upstairs; however on the table next to theirs a 13-year-old girl was celebrating her birthday party with 30 of her closest friends.

"They're not that little." Rukia commented.

"Well yeah to you…" Ichigo said. "They're probably like the same size. Oh wait, I think some of them are even bigger than you!" Ichigo snorted. He was then met with a punch in the stomach, courtesy of Rukia.

"At least there's a nice view." Mrs. Mochizuki noted, as she gazed out the window. Since the restaurant was on top of a hill, and they were on the second floor, they had a perfect view of the city below. There were the flashing city lights, against the back drop of the setting sun complete with a blend of yellow to purple streaks painting the sky. They all then proceeded to sit down. The table was square shaped, with two seats on each side. Rukia and Ichigo sat down next to each other at the same time, without even thinking about it. Byakuya sat down on the side adjacent to them. Orihime and Ishida awkwardly sat down across from Byakuya. Mrs. Mochizuki and Renji were the only ones left.

"_Oh no! Abarai-kun is going to sit next to Byakuya-san! I can't let that happen!" _Mrs. Mochizuki thought to herself. "_Who knows what kind of things Byakuya-san could do to Abarai-kun under the table!" _She figured, and then noticed Renji going to sit down. "_This is a battle!" _She ran as fast as she could to try and beat Renji to the chair next to Byakuya's. It was almost too late, as Renji was about to set his bottom down. Mrs. Mochizuki did the only reasonable thing she could think of, she took a flying leap towards Renji, screaming "Nooo!!!" She landed, eyes closed, with her arms wrapped around something…something strange…something she probably shouldn't be holding. She nervously opened her eyes to see she was holding onto Renji's waist, her hands were grabbing onto something on a male student that a teacher should never hold unless they wanted to be fired for sexual harassment. She was too shocked to move, until Byakuya cleared his throat, breaking Mrs. Mochizuki out of her frozen state. She quickly let go and stood up, smoothing down her plaid pencil skirt, as if nothing completely inappropriate had just happened. Everyone just stared, completely speechless, including the 13-year-old girl and her 30 closest friends… And Renji, oh poor violated Renji, was too much in shock to even move, as he just stood there, shaking, well more like twitching. Mrs. Mochizuki pretended not to notice everyone's stares, and took the seat next to Byakuya. Byakuya immediately stood up, and went to the still shocked Renji. It seemed that Byakuya whispered something to Renji, who quickly snapped out of his alarmed state and sat down next to Byakuya as if nothing was wrong.

"Are you ok Renji?" Rukia asked nervously.

"Of course." Renji smiled awkwardly. "In fact I'm great!" He exclaimed exuberantly, as the waitress gave them all some water, then left. Ichigo and Rukia gave the red head shifty looks.

"What…did you do to him?" Ichigo asked Byakuya.

"I believe I'm not the one who just committed inappropriate acts towards a student." Byakuya answered calmly.

"That's true…" Ichigo, along with Rukia, Ishida, and Orihime stared at Mrs. Mochizuki suspiciously.

"I-It was just an accident!" Mrs. Mochizuki defended. "I…just wanted to sit in this chair…"

"Really?"

"This isn't even fair! I'm not the one who's…who's in a sexual relationship with a minor!" Mrs. Mochizuki exclaimed.

"And who might that be?" Byakuya asked, while he took a sip of his water.

"Oh don't act like you don't know! You may be every woman's dream, but I see you for what you really are!" Mrs. Mochizuki snapped. Byakuya just stared at her, assuming the only thing coming out of her mouth was nonsense. As they stared, or more like glared at each other, sparks started crackling.

"Right…" Ichigo said, trying to break up the tension. "While you guys sort this out, I'm going to the bathroom." He nudged Rukia, hinting that was the signal.

"Oh! Uh, I have to go to too." Rukia said and got up and followed Ichigo. Byakuya watched them go with wary.

"Excuse me." He said and stood up.

"Ooh I uh drank too much water; I gotta use the bathroom too!" Renji said quickly and followed Byakuya.

"Oh god knows what they could do in the bathroom!" Mrs. Mochizuki gasped, and quickly excused herself to follow them.

"That was unusual." Ishida commented.

"Well maybe they had a lot to drink before we got here?" Orihime shrugged.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So what's wrong Ichigo?" Rukia asked. They had found a dimly lit deserted area right outside the back of the restaurant. The sun had already set, and the sky was darkening, allowing some stars to sparkle. Ichigo sighed deeply and moved toward Rukia, who backed up, until her back was to the brick wall of the restaurant. "W-what's wrong with you?"

"Heh…I did something bad Rukia." He smirked. Rukia blinked at him, then her eyes wide.

"You didn't…take AB-…did you?"

"I love that you're pretty and smart." He gazed at her, and then cupped her chin in his hand. Rukia quickly pushed his hand away.

"Ichigo! Why would you do that?!" Rukia grumbled. "You know the effect it has on you…"

"Well maybe it's because, I wanted you to…punish me?" Ichigo had a seductive grin on his face, and Rukia tried to her best not blush, or at least hide her reddening face.

"I'm sure I didn't pack any AB- with me….but then how?" Rukia tried to ignore Ichigo, and think clearly. "Ok, just drink my blood, and then you'll turn back to normal."

"Hm, what if I don't want to?"

"Huh?"

"Don't get me wrong, I like your blood the best Rukia!" Ichigo explained, and then moved his face closer to Rukia's. "I just wanted to do…other things…" He managed to slide his hand up Rukia's shirt, before she quickly kicked him in the stomach and moved away from the wall and away from him. "Aaahh, hurt me more…" He winced, but still had a delighted grin on his face.

"S-stop it!" She shouted and held her hand up. "You…you just stay over there…d-don't come over here!" She said, in a shaky voice.

"Heh…if you're going to be that way, I'll have better luck when I'm normal…" He frowned. "Fine, I'll drink your blood." He sighed.

"R-really?" Rukia gave him an uneasy look.

"Now come over here…ok?" Rukia walked towards him cautiously.

"J-Just do it quickly!" Rukia commanded, expecting Ichigo to drink her blood, but instead he grabbed her by the waist, and pinned her to the wall. "Y-you fool!" Rukia tried to get out of his grasp, but he was unfortunately much stronger than her.

"You know I love it when you struggle." Ichigo smirked, as he pressed his body closer to Rukia's.

"I-Ichigo, stop it! This isn't mmhh—" Before Rukia could budge, Ichigo had occupied her mouth with his own. Rukia initially felt dizzy from the force of Ichigo's kiss, but quickly regained her senses. She proceeded to kick him in…well a place that would certainly hurt for a male to be kicked in and then push him away, so she wasn't trapped by the wall. She hastily fished out her Chappy special edition pocket knife from her pocket.

"W-what are you doing with that…?" Ichigo asked, still in obvious pain from the damage Rukia had dealt but a few seconds ago.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to draw blood, so I can force feed it to you and then you can turn back to normal!" Rukia explained.

"Wait no Rukia! Don't do it!" Ichigo gasped, sounding more like his normal self.

"Ichigo…?" Rukia blinked, recognizing the change in his voice. "You're…back to normal…but how?" Rukia stared at Ichigo, with a puzzled expression.

"I…don't know." Ichigo looked back at her, and then suddenly clutched his head in pain.

"W-what happened?!"

"My head…it hurts!" Ichigo cringed, while panting heavily. "Damn it! What's…happening to me?!"

"I-I don't know! I think you're heads hurting because your mind is trying to overtake the effects of the love spell." Rukia figured.

"Save the explanation for later!" Ichigo barked. "What am I supposed to do about this?!"

"Just drink my blood! The effects will be—."

"No!"

"Huh? Why not?!" Rukia questioned.

"I…I can't keep…depending—."

"Cut the crap you fool! You're in severe pain, how can you think about me at a time like this?!"

"Che…" Ichigo scoffed, while still clutching on to his head with one hand. He turned to Rukia, and had a warm look in his eyes, despite the pain he was feeling. "Surprisingly, it's not hard." Rukia frowned at him, because in this crisis situation, Ichigo could still manage to say something so borderline cheesy.

"Aha! There you are!" Rukia turned around to see Byakuya and Renji standing there.

"Look this isn't the time!" Rukia announced. "Ichigo's—."

"Rukia!" Ichigo interrupted her. "There is another way to get rid of the spell right?"

"Well yes…Ichigo, you don't mean…" Rukia gave him an astonished look.

"It's fine…" Ichigo gave Rukia a trying-to-be-strong-but-failing-miserably look.

"Huh? What the hell are you guys talking about?" Renji blinked. "Wait Ichigo…what are you…doing? Why are you getting so close? Hey…what's going on…?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Ichigo slowly opened his eyes, to see that he was in his hotel bed. He swiftly sat up and spotted Byakuya sitting at the room's one table, sipping some tea, while reading a book.

"You're finally awake Kurosaki Ichigo."

"What…how did we get here?" Ichigo looked down, to see Rukia sitting on the floor sleeping, her head leaning on the night stand next to his bed. "Rukia? Hey, what's she doing on the floor? Is she ok? Why didn't you let her sit on a chair or something?"

"I offered her a chair, but she insisted on sitting there." Byakuya replied. "She also insisted on carrying you back here, after you collapsed at the restaurant."

"Oh…" Ichigo looked away, while running a hand through his hair. His gaze fell on Rukia again, wondering why he was graced with such a person in his life. Ichigo sighed, and then heard some snoring, and noticed Renji was fast asleep on his own bed. "What's got him so tired?" Byakuya chose not to respond and instead turned a page of his book and continued to read. "Well I guess he had a pretty hard day...being sexually harassed by a teacher, kissed by me, and being bossed around by you." Ichigo chuckled, while Byakuya ignored him.

"I don't understand it." Byakuya finally said in a monotonous tone.

"Huh?"

"What Rukia sees in someone like you." Byakuya replied.

"Well sorry that you can't see my charms." Ichigo answered sarcastically.

Byakuya barely managed to repress a sigh, as he put down his book. "I doubt Rukia told you this, but most dhampirs are born from a male pure blood and a female dhampir."

"What? But I thought pure bloods and dhampirs aren't allowed to…"

"They're not." Byakuya answered curtly. "Pure bloods have arranged marriages to other pure bloods. However male pure bloods seem to enjoy seducing innocent female dhampirs, mainly for their blood."

"Their blood?" Ichigo blinked.

"It's believed that blood from a virgin dhampir is the most appetizing." Byakuya explained.

"O-Oh…wait but I thought you were also a pure blood." Ichigo said. "Ehh…so does that mean that you also…?"

"Of course not. I'm one of the few, who actually respects the law."

"Sadly I believe you…" Ichigo sighed. "But it's not like that with Rukia and me. She's…I mean it's not like I'm using her or anything, we were friends before all this vampire stuff happened. I know you won't believe me but I—."

"Kurosaki, I know."

"W-what?"

"I'm aware that you are not like the rest, if you were, Rukia wouldn't talk so highly of you." Byakuya said, and Ichigo felt confused, but also a bit happy to know that Rukia talks about him to other people.

"But then why do you keep following us around and stuff?"

"Because it is still not allowed, your relationship that is."

"W-what relationship? We're just friends…" Ichigo blushed slightly.

"But you want to be something more don't you?" Byakuya said as more of a statement than a question. Just then Renji snored really loudly, started coughing, and sat up quickly. He looked around hastily, then sighed.

"Man…what a dream!" He exclaimed, then noticed that Ichigo and Byakuya looked to be involved in a serious conversation. "Hm…what's going on?" He rubbed his eyes.

"I think I should bring Rukia back to her room, besides its almost curfew." Ichigo glanced at the digital clock on the night stand that read 11:13 p.m. in neon block numbers. He crawled out of bed, and reached down to pick Rukia up.

"Whoa what do you think you're doing?" Renji questioned, noticing Ichigo's actions.

"I don't want to wake her." Ichigo said, and scooped Rukia up in his arms, bridal style. After Ichigo left Renji glanced at Byakuya.

"We're not going to stop them?" Renji asked, barely taking his eyes off the door, Ichigo had just carried Rukia through.

"It'll be fine." Byakuya answered, calmly.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Kurosaki-kun?!" Orihime gasped. She was surprised to say the least to see the orange haired boy at her door and her heart sank when she saw he was holding Rukia in his arms. She mentally slapped herself for feeling bad just by seeing Rukia, who she did think very highly of.

"I just came to drop Rukia off. She fell asleep in our room so…"

"Ah right sorry!" Orihime moved aside and opened the door wider so Ichigo could get inside. "This is Kuchiki-san's bed." She gestured towards the bed. Ichigo placed Rukia down on her bed, and gently tucked her in. Orihime noticed Ichigo's tender expression towards Rukia, and she felt she shouldn't even be in the room.

"Well I'll be going then." Ichigo said, and turned away from Rukia toward the door, when his hand was suddenly grabbed from behind. Before he could turn around, he was pulled down, as he felt his head hit the mattress. Ichigo winced, then he felt some breathing in his ear, and an arm wrap around his neck. "R-Rukia?!" He gasped, noticing it was indeed the short girl's arm that was around his neck.

"K-Kurosaki-kun…I-I think she's still sleeping." Orihime commented, noticing Rukia's eyes shut.

"What the hell is she—?"

"Mmmnn so soft…" Rukia mumbled, as she rubbed her face in Ichigo's orange hair. Ichigo felt his face heat up, as Rukia cuddled closer to him.

"I-I have t-to go to the bathroom!" Orihime announced in a flustered panic and escaped to the sanctuary of the bathroom to avoid the embarrassing scene.

"Wait…I don't know how to get out of this…" Ichigo mumbled, but it was too late, Orihime had already left. Ichigo sighed to himself, and tried to release himself from Rukia's tight grasp, when he heard Rukia speaking softly.

"Mmmnn so soft…" She said making Ichigo rolled his eyes. "…I love you." Ichigo ceased all movement, not sure if he had heard Rukia correctly.

"_D-did Rukia just say…" _Ichigo thought to himself. "_But wait who was she saying it to?! C-could it be…me?"_

* * *

**A/N**

Yeah that's right Orihime run into the bathroom...because you can't handle the IchiRukiness! Hehe, anyways…hopefully I'll have the new chapter up next week, so until then~


	21. A tent for two

Hey everyone, really sorry about the late update, but in exchange for the wait, this chapter is a bit longer than usual. Oh and also thanks so much for over 200 reviews! Yay, you guys rock!

**Chapter 21 A tent for two**

"Wait…I don't know how to get out of this…" Ichigo mumbled, but it was too late, Orihime had already left. Ichigo sighed to himself, and tried to release himself from Rukia's tight grasp, when he heard Rukia speaking softly.

"Mmmnn so soft…" She said making Ichigo roll his eyes. "…I love you." Ichigo ceased all movement, not sure if he had heard Rukia correctly.

"_D-did Rukia just say…" _Ichigo thought to himself. "_But wait who was she saying it to?! C-could it be…me?"_

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Are you hungry?" Byakuya glanced at Renji, after hearing the red head's stomach grumbling in five minute increments for over 15 minutes.

"Hm? No I'm ok!" Renji assured, and then his stomach grumbled loudly once again. "Maybe just a little…I mean we didn't get to eat dinner after all that commotion that stupid Ichigo caused."

"I ordered some room service a few minutes ago." Byakuya stated.

"Really? But Byakuya-dono you don't eat food…" Renji said. Byakuya gave him an of-course-I-know-that-do-you-think-I'm-stupid look. "Then why did you order room service?" Renji blinked.

"Is it really such a mystery?" Byakuya gave him a cold stare.

"Ah! I got it!" Renji exclaimed. "You ordered it for Rukia, so she can eat when she wakes up! But then Ichigo took her back to her room so…" Just then there was a knock on the door, and a voice announced room service. "I'll get it." Renji ran to the door.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Mnn…I love you so much…"

"_S-she said it again!"_ Ichigo gasped.

"…Chappy…"

"….Hah?" Ichigo blinked, "_Rukia…she just said… 'Chappy' didn't she_?" As Ichigo pondered this, Rukia released him, and turned the other way, snuggling her pillow, continuing into slumber. Ichigo sank down onto the floor, still not able to grasp the situation. Then he spotted a Chappy keychain on the floor. "You…" He said as he picked up the keychain. "You stupid damn bunny!" He cursed the trinket and threw it on the ground, continuously stomping on it. He angrily picked it up and chucked it at the sleeping Rukia. "I wish you all the happiness in the world!" He spat, and stomped out of the room, slamming the door on his way out. Surprisingly, all the noise didn't wake Rukia up.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Man…this food sure smells good…" Renji gazed at the plates of food on the table. "Aw too bad, we should have had Ichigo bring the food to Rukia's room, but he left before—."

"Renji." Byakuya interrupted him.

"Uh, yes Byakuya-dono?"

"Just eat it." Renji gave him a puzzled look. Byakuya massaged his forehead with his long elegant fingers, clearly frustrated. "Rukia will not be able to eat anything while she's asleep, will she?"

"_Damn he's probably mad because Ichigo carried Rukia to her room like that…like they were newlyweds off to their honeymoon, well except for the fact that Rukia was sleeping…in any case, I better eat it!" _Renji thought to himself and was about to dig in, when Ichigo came trudging in. "Oh Ichigo, you're back, want some food?"

"I'm going to sleep!" Ichigo announced, ignoring Renji. The angry teen threw himself in bed and covered his head with his bed sheets. Renji and Byakuya stared at Ichigo and then at each other.

"What's his problem?" Renji wondered out loud, while munching on some French fries.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Rukia woke up the next morning to find something pokey underneath her. She sat up, to see her beloved Chappy keychain lying on the white sheets. "_Hm? What's this doing here…?"_ She wondered. "_Anyways…I don't even remember coming back to my room…oh well, I got to go check on Ichigo. Better get ready." _She took a quick glance at the clock that read 7:30am, then walked to the bathroom and opened the door, to see Orihime leaning over the bathtub.

"I-Inoue?" Rukia blinked. She walked over to the auburn haired girl, and gently nudged her.

"Hm?" Orihime rubbed her eyes. "Ah Kuchiki-san? It's already morning…I must have fallen asleep…" She figured.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"_I kind of overreacted last night…"_ Ichigo thought to himself as he was walking to the elevator.

"_I mean how could I expect her to be dreaming of me…tch I don't even know if she likes me in that way…." _He sighed, and entered the elevator, before clicking the button for the bottom floor.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ok, everyone I'm sure you're wondering what I called you all here for." Ukitake said. Everyone; students, teachers, and chaperones were gathered in the hotel's lobby to listen to what the long white haired man had to say. "Well you see this equipment behind me here. Yes you guessed it; we're all going to go camping!" Many broke out into whispering and others simply gave puzzled expressions. "For the past few days you were allowed to get used to the setting and relax, but now we're going onto the next portion of this trip, which is the camping part."

"Ukitake-sensei, will you be coming with us?" A female student asked, eagerly.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss out an opportunity like this." Ukitake smiled kindly. "I brought some people to help me out in case my health should deteriorate." The teacher gestured towards a group of people, which included some faces familiar to Rukia and Byakuya: Shunsui Kyōraku and Hisagi Shuuhei.

"Hey isn't that old guy…" Ichigo whispered.

"Yes." Rukia answered, assuming Ichigo remembered Kyoraku from before.

"From that prune juice commercial?"

"No, you idiot!" Rukia sighed, and slapped Ichigo over the head. "You met him when you..." Rukia glanced around, and then lowered her voice. "…When you found out about you being a vampire."

"Oh right…"

"Since the student's tents fit two each, we have split all the students with someone of the same gender." Ukitake explained. "I'll start with the students, Asano Keigo with Kojima Mizuiro."

"Yay! We're together Mizuiro!!" Keigo shouted out in excitement, while Mizuiro just sighed helplessly.

"Arisawa Tatsuki with Inoue Orihime. Arimoto Miyuki with Tachikawa Hikari..."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Damn it! Why didn't Byakuya-dono or Ichigo wake me up?!" Renji frantically jumped out of bed after seeing that it is was already fifteen minutes after 8:00…even though Ukitake had told everybody to meet in the lobby at 8:00. "I'm sure it wasn't anything important…" Renji assured himself. "Besides I'm not that late!" He tried to reason with himself.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Yasutora Sado with Ishida Uryu. And the last pair is Kurosaki Ichigo with Kuchiki Rukia."

"Excuse me Ukitake-sensei~" Mrs. Mochizuki butted in. "I believe Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-kun are of different genders."

"Yes I know." Ukitake smiled. "But there were an uneven number of boys and girls, plus I trust that the two of them won't do anything immoral."

"Yes!" Rukia gave Ichigo a thumbs up.

"What was that for?" Ichigo asked.

"It's been a long time since we've slept in the same space…it'll be like we're back at home, in your room. Ahh I sleep the best there!" Rukia said with a cheerful look.

"You…you don't have to be so happy…" Ichigo couldn't help but smirk, as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well then, since all the pairs are decided, we should depart." Ukitake announced, and they all started to leave, when they heard someone shouting.

"Hey guys! Wait for me!" Renji came running towards them, panting. "What'd I miss?"

"We're going camping!" Keigo said.

"Ah Abarai-kun…I can't believe I didn't remember you on the list." Ukitake looked over his clipboard again.

"List? What list?" Renji blinked.

"It has who each person is going to be sharing a tent with." Mizuiro explained.

"Ehh? So does this mean I can't go?" Renji pouted.

"Renji can take my place." Rukia suddenly said. Ichigo immediately stared at her.

"But Rukia you just…"

"I can't go, if I know Renji's here alone." Rukia said to Ichigo.

"Fine then I won't—." Ichigo was interrupted, when Byakuya stepped forward.

"He can sleep in my tent." The noble said. "I'm his legal guardian after all."

"Oh yes, you're right." Ukitake agreed, while nudging Kyoraku, who was stifling a laugh.

"Byakuya-dono…" Renji beamed, while Mrs. Mochizuki twitched.

"Great, so now that that's figured out, we can go." Ukitake grinned, as they all headed out. Rukia turned to leave, when someone grabbed her hand from behind. She turned around, just as Ichigo passed her by.

"I'm glad you're coming." He whispered, and then walked past her to join the others. Rukia blinked for a few seconds, pink tinting her cheeks, and then she smiled to herself.

"Yeah, me too."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hey Rukia, thanks…for what you did back there…" Renji walked beside Rukia, as they were all going to the campsite.

"What are friends for?" She answered nonchalantly. "So in exchange for my extremely great deed…"

"Oh come on…there has to be a catch? Why can't you just do something nice for you bestest childhood friend?" Renji flashed her a cheesy grin.

"Hm…being optimistic aren't we?"

"Fine…what do you want?" Renji sighed.

"Tell me who…" Rukia lowered her voice, "the pure blood was that drank your blood!" Rukia whispered excitedly.

"This again? Look, I'm not going to tell you!"

"Oh I see…so a precious friend offering to give up their spot on a camping trip for you is worthless to you? Well I see how it is now Abarai-san." Rukia feigned hurt, as she dramatically placed the back of her hand on her forehead.

"Ok fine…" Renji groaned. "I'll tell you the truth. I lied."

"Huh?"

"A pure blood didn't really drink my blood…I just said that so Ichigo would think it wasn't a big deal."

"…But then how come you blush every time we bring it up?" Rukia asked.

"Well because…I had this dream about it, and talking about it just keeps reminding me of the dream…"

"Hmm…so who's the person in your dreams?" Rukia asked.

"Like I'm gonna tell you! I fulfilled my part already!" Renji retorted. Rukia sighed, and shrugged her shoulders, because he was right, he had answered her question…well sort of.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After they had gotten to the campsite, and had set up camp, it was already getting dark. Ichigo was watching the teachers start the fire, when he spotted Izuru Kira.

"Hey Kira!" He called to the nervous blonde. Kira hastily looked up, surprised to see Ichigo running towards him.

"K-Kurosaki-san…?"

"Where're you going? Apparently we're not supposed to go anywhere alone, when it's getting dark like this."

"Ah no, I was just going to see Ukitake-sensei and Kyoraku-san about some vampire stuff."

"Oh I see—wait did you just say what I thought you said?!" Ichigo gasped, then looked around and lowered his voice. "You mean you're a vampire?"

"Y-yes…a dhampir actually." Kira answered nervously.

"Ehhh really…I never would have guessed." Ichigo shrugged. "So do you have a pure blood partner?"

"W-well actually I—."

"Oi Kira!" Both Ichigo and Kira turned around to see Hisagi's head peeping out of the entrance of a green tent. "It's time for the—."

"Right! I-I'll be right there!" Kira answered, and gave an apologetic nod to Ichigo. He then ran over to Hisagi, leaving a confused Ichigo to wonder how those two knew each other and what they were up to.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"You look like you're taking it pretty well, ne Orihime-chan?" Miyuki put an arm around Orihime.

"Eh? What are you talking about?"

"Oh c'mon don't be dense! I'm talking about Kurosaki-kun sharing a tent with Rukia-chan!"

"S-should I be bothered?" Orihime blinked.

"I know that if it was the love of my life sleeping together in a tent with another girl, I'd be _pretty_ concerned~" Miyuki said.

"Yeah I mean it's almost as bad as sharing a bed!" Hikari appeared near Orihime's other side. "Well except it'll probably be colder and then they might need to cuddle together for warmth, and then Kurosaki-kun's primitive instincts will take over and—."

"Ok! I think that's enough you two." Tatsuki sighed.

"Why? I was just getting to the best part!" Hikari moaned.

"Yeah yeah save it for your fan fiction." Tatsuki waved them off. After they had left, the black haired girl turned to her best friend. "Hey Orihime you ok?"

"Y-Yeah of course Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime forced a smile.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hey Ichigo…come here!" Renji called his friend over to where he was standing.

"What's up?" Ichigo walked up to the red head to see a crumpled up green mass at his feet. "What's that?" Ichigo pointed to the jumbled mess.

"It's my tent! What else?" Renji asked.

"Well I think it needs to be made first…"

"I know that! That's why I called you here, so that you can help me make it."

"Eh? Why do I have to help you? That's what you're supposed to do with the person you're sharing a tent with! I already had to make mine with Rukia…so where's Byakuya then? He should be helping you—."

"No!" Renji refused. "He's having a meeting with the teachers and chaperones or something like that and besides I…I want to make it before he gets here, so that it'll be already be made when he's finished and then he'll…well yeah that's it! So are you going to help me or not?"

"All I'm seeing is a dog trying ever so desperately to please his master…" Ichigo shook his head, in shame.

"Well fine! I don't need your help, I'll do it myself!" Renji shouted, then bent down and scanned the green mess, and the rods and things that were underneath it. "Hm maybe this goes…here?"

"It's not that hard." Ichigo grumbled and sat down next to him, handing the red headed dhampir a piece of paper. "If you have the instructions."

"Oh~" Renji gave Ichigo a sheepish grin and took the instructions from him.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"It's nice to do this sort of thing once in a while. It's so calming." Ukitake breathed, with a relaxed demeanor, looking up at the beautifully starry sky.

"I agree Ukitake-sensei~" A female student, who popped out of nowhere, agreed.

"Me too!" Another squeaked, as they both giggled, blushed and ran away.

"Pretty popular with the cute school girls, aren't you _sensei_~." Kyoraku teased his old friend. "Why don't you save some for me huh?" The two of them along with Hisagi were sitting on some log benches near the bonfire.

"Please don't think of harassing my students." Ukitake sighed.

"Ha ha of course not, I would never think of doing that to _you_~." Kyoraku put an arm around Ukitake.

"Here's some tea Ukitake-sensei!" Kira carefully handed Ukitake a cup of the hot liquid that had been brewed in a teapot that was brought for the trip.

"Ah thank you Kira-kun."

"Why was I brought here again?" Hisagi sighed, as he ran a hand through his spiky black hair.

"A-are you unhappy here Hisagi-san?" Kira asked nervously as he took a seat next to the tattoo bearing man.

"No it's not that…I just feel like I could be doing something important, like finding a partner." Hisagi said, while staring at the ground. Kira glanced at Hisagi, and then looked away gloomily.

"Aw c'mon you kids are too depressing!" Kyoraku came up behind them and patted them both on the backs so hard they almost fell off the bench.

"K-Kyoraku-san…?" Kira rubbed his back.

"You weren't brought out here to make everyone miserable!" Kyoraku berated Hisagi, and then smirked at both of them. "Now go and have some fun with the other kids! Kira-kun show this guy the way." He explained and pushed Hisagi toward Kira.

"Yes sir…" Kira replied.

"We're going now." Hisagi sighed, and followed Kira.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Well it's getting late; we should all be heading to bed soon." Ukitake announced. Everyone was sitting around the campfire, and it had been hours since they had finished dinner.

"Wait sensei! We didn't get to tell ghost stories yet!" Keigo exclaimed.

"Uh ok, but just a few…" Ukitake replied.

"Yes! I'll start~" Keigo squealed, and then paused. "Actually…scary stories are not really my cup of tea, so maybe we should just…"

"If Asano-san is too scared, then I'll tell a story." Mizuiro said.

"Mizuiro?! You will? Oh c'mon it's getting late; we should save it for another time!" Keigo said in a fluster.

"It was a breezy spring morning," Mizuiro began, ignoring Keigo's pleas. "And nine-year-old Ruth was picking flowers in the beautiful grassy hills all alone. You see the reason she was doing this was because her older sister had told her that if Ruth picked all the flowers in the field, a special fairy would appear, who would grant any wish Ruth desired."

"Oh this story doesn't sound that bad…" Keigo breathed out in relief.

"As she reached down to pick a red flower, a hand reached up and grabbed her."

"A-a hand?" Keigo asked nervously.

"Ruth pulled her hand away, but the hand held on, revealing that it was without a body. It was as if the arm had been ripped off the body, the blood still dripping out from the inside, with just a bit of bone slipping out." Mizuiro continued. "Ruth took one look at the blood drenched arm, and started eating it."

"Eh?! Why would Ruth do that?!" Keigo gasped. "What kind of person is she?!"

"Hmph." Mizuiro scoffed. "I never said Ruth was human. You see Ruth was actually a—."

"Nooo!!!" Keigo got up and started shouting.

"Dude calm down…it's not that scary." Ichigo sighed.

"Well I think we should all head off to sleep now." Ukitake suggested, and motioned everyone off to their tents.

"Aw I didn't even get to the best part yet…" Mizuiro pouted, then smiled evilly and turned to Keigo. "Heh maybe sharing a tent with you won't be such a bad thing." He put a hand on the brown haired boy's shoulder.

"Why? What do you mean—wait! No you don't mean…?" Keigo gasped, and then tried to run away. "Help!!" Keigo begged his other friends, as he was dragged into his tent by Mizuiro.

"Good night Nii-sama." Rukia bowed to her brother, who nodded in response, then entered his tent. Rukia turned to her red headed friend. "Night Renji."

"G'night Rukia!" Renji waved innocently, until Rukia had gone into her tent, then he grabbed Ichigo by the arm.

"What?" Ichigo asked, while pulling his arm out of Renji's grasp.

"You better not do anything to Rukia!"

"Hah? What are you—?" Before Ichigo could say anymore, Renji released, him and went inside his own tent.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"_I didn't know these tents were going to be this small…"_ Rukia thought to herself. She cautiously turned her head around, to see Ichigo, who looked like he was sleeping peacefully. She rapidly turned back around. "_How can he sleep so calmly?! Why am I the only one concerned about this?"_ Rukia pouted, and felt herself shaking with annoyance. She sighed, and decided to try and get some sleep, when she felt her back suddenly get warmer, then two arms, wrapped around her tiny waist. She froze, unsure of what to think or say.

"You're cold right? This way we both stay warm, so we can sleep." Ichigo said in a low voice.

"Ichigo…" Rukia blushed and then though to herself. "_But if we're like this my heart won't be able to calm down…" _Ichigo, sensing her uncomfortable state, started to remove his arms, when Rukia grabbed his wrists, and pulled them closer to her.

"I-I never I said I didn't want it…" She said quickly, glad Ichigo couldn't see her red face. They stayed like that for who knows how long, until Rukia heard some light breathing sounds from Ichigo, signaling he was asleep. She slowly tried to turn around without waking him, with little success. She moved too swiftly and ended up knocking her forehead to his jaw. They both winced at the pain.

"Mmmmpphh…Rukia, what're you doing?" Ichigo asked, sleepily.

"S-sorry…just go back to sleep, ok?"

"Mmm, ok…" He answered, and nestled in closer to Rukia, leaning his chin on her head. Rukia 's face was met with the bare skin of Ichigo's chest, as she tried to back away from him, the best she could was probably less than two inches.

"_Does he never wear a shirt to sleep anymore?" _Rukia wondered, but decided she really didn't mind, she may of even liked it better this way. She gingerly reached her fingertips to touch his skin. It felt warm and unlike her smooth, softer skin, Rukia liked that Ichigo's skin felt more rough. She could feel his heart beating steadily, as she carefully rested her cheek on his chest, slowly falling asleep to the beat of his heart.

* * *

**A/N**

So I had a dream about the last part of the chapter, and woke up shouting "That was so cheesy! I have to write it down!" And that's how that part happened…now that I look back at it, it doesn't seem so cheesy to me, well except for the last sentence.


	22. A hot springs getaway

Hey everyone, thanks so much for so many funny and awesome reviews! Glad people though my cheese was yummy~

**Chapter 22 A hot springs getaway**

"_Does he never wear a shirt to sleep anymore?" _Rukia wondered, but decided she really didn't mind, she may of even liked it better this way. She gingerly reached her fingertips to touch his skin. It felt warm and unlike her smooth, softer skin, Rukia liked that Ichigo's skin felt more rough. She could feel his heart beating steadily, as she carefully rested her cheek on his chest, slowly falling asleep to the beat of his heart.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Rukia…Rukia, wake up…" The dark haired girl groggily opened her eyes to see Ichigo's brown eyes looking down on her.

"Hmm? Ichigo…what?" Rukia asked, and sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm hungry…" He said, and scooted closer to her.

"So…?" Rukia groaned, still half-asleep. "What does that—oh." She finally realized that Ichigo wasn't just craving scrambled eggs or cereal. "Well didn't you have some blood substitute with you?"

"Well…yeah." Ichigo frowned. "But…it's just, I mean those things always have weird-ass side effects…and since no one else is awake yet, I thought I could…"

"…I probably brought this on myself." Rukia sighed, then shook her head. "I spoil you too much." She said dryly, and began to undo the top buttons of her shirt.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Carefully…carefully…" Mrs. Mochizuki cautiously crept toward a _certain_ tent that held a _certain_ two people. It was still so early that the sun hadn't rose yet, though the sky was of a medium blue color. Therefore it wasn't so dark that she couldn't see. She was now right next to the tent, and she reached for the zip that sealed the tent's entrance. But that's where it all went wrong. There was a chunky metal lock on the zip. "_Noo! How come there's a lock?!" _She covered her mouth before she could gasp. _"Well I don't hear anything…maybe they really are sleeping…I guess I came too late." _She figured, then finally realized that the lock was open, and had to withhold another gasp. Then she took a deep breath, and gently reached for the zip once again. She little by little undid the zip, and pulled back the flaps, eagerly peeking inside. Not surprisingly, she gasped at what she saw. Renji was sprawled over his unzipped sleeping bag, shirtless with his pants button unbuttoned. Byakuya on the other hand, looked to be completely clothed and was perfectly placed inside his own sleeping bag, which covered just below his shoulders. He was sleeping on his back, with his head turned slightly towards Renji's direction. This was all enough for Mrs. Mochizuki to scream, but instead she calmly took out her camera, and take a picture. However she left the flash on, when she clicked the picture and Byakuya immediately woke up, while Renji slowly sat up while rubbing his eyes. Before Byakuya or Renji could see clearly, Mrs. Mochizuki ran for the hills. Byakuya stared through the flap suspiciously, hoping to catch a glimpse of who that invader was, but failed. He quietly sighed, then turned to the semi-conscious Renji who had yet to realize his partial nudity. Byakuya took one look at Renji, and then tossed a blanket toward the red head. Renji blinked at Byakuya, then looked down, blushed and hurriedly buttoned up his pants, and while he was at it, slipped on a shirt.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ugh…" Rukia collapsed onto her sleeping bag. "How much did you drink? And since when did I tell you that you could bite me anywhere you felt like!" She scolded, while slipping her shirt back on. "Hey! Don't just sit there sulking in the corner!" Ichigo remained silent, sitting at the farthest away corner of the tent from Rukia, hugging his knees to his chest with a gloomy aura surrounding him. "Why do you only feel ashamed _after_ you've actually done it?" Rukia asked.

"I can't believe I…" Ichigo just sat in the corner mumbling to himself.

"…Oh c'mon, you didn't even really do anything much different than usual—this was your first time drinking blood from more than just the neck, and it has been a while since you've had blood and why am I the one comforting you?!" Rukia slapped Ichigo over the head. "I'm the victim here…I can't just go out there with all these bite marks all over.

"Well you could have stopped me…if you really wanted to." Ichigo pointed out.

"T-that's—It doesn't matter now!" Rukia stammered. "Ah that's right!" She suddenly grabbed her bag, and fished out a piece of paper. "There a secret hot springs near here."

"Secret hot springs?"

"Yeah, its exclusively for vampires and their suppliers. The water has healing properties for suppliers with bite marks and such."

"So we're going to go there now?" Ichigo asked.

"There's no choice, unless I want to spend the whole day in my tent." Rukia replied. "I'm assuming no one's awake now, so we should go, and come back as quick as we can."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Byakuya-dono, where're you going?"

"To find whoever that person was." Byakuya stated, as he wrapped his beloved scarf around his neck.

"Hm…but do we know who it is?" Renji finished putting on his shoes, and followed Byakuya.

"I have my suspicions, however there is nothing concrete." Byakuya explained.

"Oh…Hey isn't that…Ichigo and Rukia's tent?" Renji gestured towards a green tent that wasn't locked. The both walked towards it, and Renji unzipped the opening flap and peeked inside to see that is was unoccupied. "Where are they?" He blinked in confusion. Then Byakuya went past him into the tent. Renji had to hold back laughter from seeing Byakuya crawl into someone else's tent like a desperate stalker. He then followed after the noble.

"Woah and I thought our tent was small…" Renji commented, as he inched into the tent. He then noticed Byakuya looking at something that appeared to be a magazine with an intense expression. "Hm? What's that?"

"Nothing." Byakuya said and quickly stuffed whatever it was that he was looking at back where he found it, which was in Rukia's bag. Renji stared at the dark haired man suspiciously, and tried to catch a glimpse of the inside of Rukia's bag, but was interrupted, when Byakuya cleared his throat. "Renji, I told you it was nothing."

"I-I know…but it sure looked like something." Renji mumbled.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Wow it really was close by." Ichigo thought to himself, as he stepped into the steaming waters. "Ahh feels good." He was just about to relax and close his eyes, when Rukia suddenly appeared in front him. "R-Rukia?! What the hell?!"

"I-I don't know! I just saw a crevice between the rocks on the other side, and so then I swam between it, and ended up here!" Rukia explained, in an embarrassed flurry.

"F-fine! Just get back on the other side." Ichigo blushed. Rukia nodded in agreement, and turned to leave, when they heard some splashing and low voices on the other side.

"W-what was that?" Ichigo mouthed the word to Rukia.

"I-I think someone's on the other side." She mouthed back. She peeked between the crevice to see none other than Ukitake and Kyoraku. She had to cover her mouth to conceal a gasp. "It's Ukitake-sensei!" She whispered to Ichigo, who's jaw dropped.

"Hey what's this little opening here?" Kyoraku swam over to the crevice Rukia was peeking through. Rukia quickly swam towards Ichigo in frenzy and frantically waved her hands around, trying to make Ichigo understand to get out of the water. Apparently Ichigo understood and scrambled out, wearing only a tiny white towel. He only managed to grab his pants, while Rukia got herself out, wearing a towel that on a taller person, would fit as a medium length skirt but for Rukia covered everything it needed to. They both, sopping wet, ran away from the hot springs, and jumped behind a bush.

"Th-that was close…" Ichigo breathed out in relief, and sat up, rubbing his head. "Rukia…you ok?" He turned to see Rukia lying down with her eyes closed, breathing hard. "H-hey, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine…just a little tired from the blood loss." Rukia replied, and sat up.

"Oh…" Ichigo looked away with a guilty expression.

"Anyways, can you not sit like that with your legs crossed, I'm afraid I'll see something I'm not planning on seeing." Rukia sighed. Ichigo looked down, remembering he was wearing only a tiny towel skirt. He blushed, and closed his legs.

"W-well sorry…I'm not used to wearing skirts…" He answered.

"Maybe I should get you used to them…" Rukia smirked, and then began to imagine Ichigo in a pink maid's outfit. "Hmm...not bad."

"Hey, you're imagining something weird aren't you?" Ichigo stared at her with a shifty expression.

"I can't help it, after your dad gave me that issue of Male Maids Monthly." Rukia defended.

"Male Maids Monthly? What's that?"

"It's a magazine that features beautiful men, aka bishounens in female attire, usually maid outfits." Rukia explained.

"Oyaji gave you that?" Ichigo shook his head in disgust. "Besides what's so good about them anyways?"

"Hm?

"What's so great about girly looking guys? I mean you might as well date another girl." Ichigo said.

"Aw are you jealous?" Rukia snickered. "Don't worry, there's girls who like your type better too."

"I don't care about that…" Ichigo rolled his eyes. "So what about you?"

"Huh?"

"Which do like?"

"What do you…mean?" Rukia blinked.

"I mean," Ichigo leaned in closer, causing Rukia to back away. "What's _your_ type?"

"I-I don't really…" Rukia tried to avoid his intense stare. "I mean this isn't really the place to..." She tried to say, when she felt Ichigo's hand touch her cheek. She glanced downwards to see that his body was still wet from the hot springs with water dripping down his perfectly sculpted abs. She quickly glanced up to see him smirking at her. "W-what's with that face?!" She smacked his hand and turned away, trying to conceal a blush.

"Che, even after you were the one checking me out." Ichigo scoffed.

"I-I was not!" Rukia stammered. "W-why are you acting like this anyways?"

"Like what?"

"Like…like you're under the love spell." Rukia replied.

"That again?" Ichigo groaned. "Are you acting so damn stupid on purpose?"

"W-what's that supposed to mean?!" Rukia glared.

"It means that you're acting stupid! What else?" Ichigo sneered.

"If anyone is stupid here it's you!" Rukia retorted.

"What the hell?! You're such an idiot I can't even stand it!"

"Oh really? Well at least I'm not a completely clueless moron like you!" Rukia hollered. They both stared angrily at each other.

"Screw this!" Ichigo finally said, and pinned Rukia to the ground, pressing his lips to hers. Without much of a pause, his tongue found its way into her mouth. They eventually had to breathe so, as their lips parted, Ichigo gently moved his mouth downwards, his hot breath tickling Rukia's neck.

"I-Ichigo…" Rukia panted, with her cheeks red. "W-what're you…mmnn—." Rukia moaned, as Ichigo brushed his tongue across her skin. Rukia felt the towel she was wearing loosen, and Ichigo's warm hand slide up her thigh. "W-wait…hnnnn Ichigo…s-stop!" Rukia pressed her palm to his face in an effort to move him away, but then she felt something warm and spongy against her palm. "A-are you licking my hand?!" Rukia gasped, as she retracted her hand.

"Don't you get it now?" Ichigo asked, in a low voice, as he leaned in to kiss Rukia.

"Ichigo…e-even so…we can't do it here." Rukia turned her head to avoid his attempts.

"Why?" Ichigo demanded an answer.

"Well for one thing…we're literally lying in dirt." Rukia replied. Ichigo looked around, realizing what she was saying was true. "And secondly, Ukitake-sensei is close by, and could easily find us. Third, everyone at camp is probably going to be awake and then when they realize we left—."

"Ok ok, I get it." Ichigo sighed, and got off Rukia. Rukia breathed out a sigh of relief, although she secretly felt regret for putting a stop to their "endeavors." She sat up, tightening the towel around her body.

"Hey…" Ichigo started, garnering Rukia's attention. "I know it's probably weird to say it now, and this isn't quite how I planned it…but I really, towards you…Rukia, I'm completely in love with you."

"I-Ichigo—."

"No, it's even more than that." Ichigo continued. "I know this might sound stupid or something, but I think…I think it goes even deeper than that. I mean, you understand me; you're always protecting me, encouraging me. But, Rukia…I want to do the same for you, I want to—."

"Ichigo!" Rukia interrupted. "Are you reciting our marriage vows you fool?" She huffed, and then her expression changed to a smile, "I'm in love with you too."

* * *

**A/N**

Well there it is! The long awaited, yet somehow anticlimactic confession…well hopefully it didn't disappoint too much. I was tempted to call the chapter "A confession," but I thought that would be a dead giveaway. Oh and Sorry that the chapter was so short, but that just means I'll update faster (maybe).


	23. A Cherry Blossom promise

Hey, thanks for making the last chapter the most reviewed chapter! Well it was the confession chapter so it makes sense…oh and glad people liked the confession even if it was not what people expected.

**Chapter 23 A Cherry blossom promise**

"Hey…" Ichigo started, garnering Rukia's attention. "I know it's probably weird to say it now, and this isn't quite how I planned it…but I really, towards you…Rukia, I'm completely in love with you."

"I-Ichigo—."

"No, it's even more than that." Ichigo continued. "I know this might sound stupid or something, but I think…I think it goes even deeper than that. I mean, you understand me; you're always protecting me, encouraging me. But, Rukia…I want to do the same for you, I want to—."

"Ichigo!" Rukia interrupted. "Are you reciting our marriage vows you fool?" She huffed, and then her expression softened, "I love you too."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Byakuya-dono, I was wondering something…" Renji started, while he and Byakuya were still sitting in Ichigo and Rukia's tent.

"What is it Renji?"

Well…it's been a while since you left home…so I mean how are you getting your blood supply?" After a few seconds passed in silence, Renji glanced in Byakuya's direction to see if he was planning on answering the question. Byakuya had his usual cold expression, but Renji noticed something like discomfort in his eyes. The noble suddenly looked directly into Renji's eyes, causing Renji to look away quickly. The red head noticed from the corner of his eye, Byakuya was still looking at him, and that he was closer than before. "Byakuya-dono…what are you…?"

"Renji," Byakuya leaned forward, mere inches from Renji's face. Byakuya glanced downward, and then his eyes made their way back up to meet Renji's. "Take it o—."

"Aha!" Mrs. Mochizuki's head suddenly popped out from between the tent flaps."I finally have proof! I heard everything!" She pointed an accusatory finger at the two.

"M-Mochizuki-sensei?!" Renji gasped. "L-look that whole blood—."

"Yes! Now I have the proof on video tape of Byakuya-san making sexual advances towards a minor!"

"It's really not how it sounds—wait what?!" Renji stopped. "Uh what did you just—?"

"Exactly what kind of proof did you get on film?" Byakuya cut him off, clearly trying to take hold of the situation.

"Hah like I'm going to fall for that! You'll just try to take the camera and delete the proof if I show you!" Mrs. Mochizuki sneered.

"I see your point." Byakuya responded, with his ever-present cool demeanor. "Then you can go and show that tape to the authorities, and leave us alone in this tent…together." He continued. "Your absence will give us plenty of time to do _certain_ things." Byakuya explained.

"Ok fine!" Mrs. Mochizuki gave in immediately. "Here I'll give you my camera, just stop taking advantage of Abarai-kun!" She begged. Byakuya took the camera from her, as Renji just blinked at the two of them, completely lost.

"Now then, if you would kindly leave." Byakuya stated.

"Huh? But I thought you said you were going to stop taking advantage of Abarai-kun?" Mrs. Mochizuki asked.

"I never promised anything, and besides it's impossible to stop doing something that I have never actually done before."

"B-but I heard you tell Abarai-kun to take "it" off."

"If you hadn't interrupted me, you would have heard that I was actually going to say take it "out." Byakuya answered, and then reached over and pulled Renji's shirt up, causing Mrs. Mochizuki to squeal and cover her eyes. "Because he was hiding this." Mrs. Mochizuki moved her hands from her eyes to see a magazine sticking out of Renji's jeans.

"Ehe…you got me." Renji chuckled embarrassedly, as he pulled the magazine out, revealing his tan tattoo adorned abs, which Mrs. Mochizuki gawked at, and then mentally slapped herself for looking at a student in such an inappropriate way.

"B-but…" Mrs. Mochizuki stammered her eyes wide in confusion. "You two…a-aren't you…all those times…I saw you!" She pointed at them, her right eye twitching ever so slightly.

"Uh…Mochizuki-sensei, could it be you didn't get enough sleep last night?" Renji suggested, trying to sound polite.

"Of course I didn't get any sleep!" Mrs. Mochizuki spat. "Because I was making sure you weren't being raped by that beautiful man over there!" Renji and Byakuya just stared at her, partly because they didn't know what to say, and partly because they were afraid anything they say would push Mrs. Mochizuki off the edge…or at least more off the edge than she already was.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Why do I have to go?" Ichigo complained.

"Because you at least have pants on, so if they see you it won't be as awkward. I, on the other hand am a female who has on nothing but a towel." Rukia explained. The two were discussing who was going to sneak by Kyoraku and Ukitake to obtain the clothes they left behind, when they were running for their lives.

"Yeah I guess…but you're smaller and don't dhampirs have like super speed or something?"

"Super speed? Who told you that?" Rukia snorted.

"You did! Remember when you were telling me you were a dhampir! You said dhampirs are stronger and faster than normal human beings."

"Ah so you remembered that…" Rukia nodded as if this was an interesting turn of events.

"What? So that was a lie?"

"No! I meant stronger as in my immune system and heart."

"Che, what the heck? That's what you meant by stronger…" Ichigo scoffed.

"Heh well let's see you act like that when flu season rolls around!" Rukia laughed haughtily. "And yes I'm faster than the normal human, but you Ichigo are obviously not a normal human."

"So no matter what it looks like I'm going end up doing this." Ichigo sighed.

"Glad you understand." Rukia smiled. "Well good luck~"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ah Ishida-kun!" Orihime had just woken up, leaving her sleeping tent mate, Tatsuki behind, she had just exited the tent and was walking around, when she spotted the bespectacled teen. He was standing near the fire which had now turned to ashes and remains of burnt wood.

"I-Inoue-san?" Ishida turned around. "Ah good morning."

"Good Morning." She smiled. "Did you sleep well?"

"For the most part. And you?"

"Yeah! I slept great; it was just like a sleep over!" Orihime exclaimed, and then a certain tent caught her eye. Ishida noticed this.

"Isn't that Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki's tent?" Ishida asked.

"Mm I-I think." Orihime answered, slightly uncomfortable.

Ishida adjusted his glasses. "Their tent, it looks likes it open." He noticed, as the two walked up to it, and realized that Ishida was right. The tent was left zipped shut, but the lock was undone. The both stood awkwardly, unsure if they should open it and look inside. Suddenly a loud yell came from behind them; of course it was the one and only, Keigo.

"No more!! Don't eat my arm Ruth! I beg you!" He cried and ran out of his tent, his palms pressed to his ears. He was followed by Mizuiro, who had a content smirk on his face.

"Oh will you shut up?! Some people are still sleeping!" Tatsuki hobbled out of her tent, her hair a frazzled mess, her eyes half open.

"Oh my god! It's a monster!" Keigo gasped, and then breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh never mind it's just Arisawa."

"And what's that supposed to mean?!" She growled mere inches from Keigo's face.

"I-I meant…oh thank god its Arisawa to save me from the monster!" Keigo exclaimed nervously, as he attempted to put as much room between himself and Tatsuki as possible.

"Tch yeah I'm sure that's you what you said." Tatsuki rolled her eyes, as she folded her arms.

"Aw you guys get along so well!" Mizuiro smiled at the two of them.

"No we don't!" They both snapped at him.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So it was Mochizuki-sensei before…" Renji noted. He and Byakuya were still in Ichigo and Rukia's tent, watching the footage on Mrs. Mochizuki's camera. "Whoa this is creepy…why does she have so many pictures of us? And when did she even take all these?" Renji sighed, as Byakuya clicked through the pictures: Byakuya peacefully admiring a cherry blossom in his hands, the two of them walking together, eating dinner, Renji gazing at Byakuya—

"Ok we don't have to look at all of them!" Renji's cheeks flushed. He tried to make a grab for the camera, but Byakuya moved his hands away too quickly. Byakuya stared at Renji, and Renji stared at Byakuya. The pure blood, then looked back down at the camera, and clicked to the next picture. He took one look at the picture, and turned off the camera, before Renji could see. "W-what was it? On the picture?" Renji slowly glanced at Byakuya.

"Nothing." Byakuya replied, which by now if Renji had learned anything meant that it was definitely something.

"So anyways…" Renji awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "Why were you trying to hide this magazine?" Renji held it up and looked at it. "Male Maids Monthly? Who the heck was reading this?" Renji stared at the magazine suspiciously and began flipping through the pages. "You know it was probably Rukia…" The red head commented and stopped at a page that had a two cutesy looking people hugging each other, one was wearing a pink maid costume and the other had on a similar outfit in blue. "Are these really guys?" Renji sighed, and then heard some muffled shouting out side. "Byakuya-dono that's—."

"It seems that some of the others have woken up."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So you're saying Ichigo and Rukia-chan aren't in there?" Mizuiro asked.

"Well we're not sure." Ishida explained in a hushed tone. "The lock was undone, but we can hear some voices coming from inside." The two of them along with Orihime, Keigo and Tatsuki were standing near Ichigo and Rukia's tent.

"M-maybe we should peek inside." Keigo suggested with eager eyes.

"We can't do that." Tatsuki berated him, and then bit her lip uncomfortably. "Ok maybe just a peek."

"Wow you guys are agreeing on things now? You're so—."

"No we're not!" Tatsuki and Keigo hissed at Mizuiro, who just grinned happily. The group proceeded towards the tent cautiously and fervent expressions.

"Hey what are you guys doing crowding around our tent like that?"

"Shh Ichigo we're trying to see if—Ichigo?!" Keigo gasped, and they all turned their heads towards their orange haired friend, who was standing beside Rukia.

"Where'd you guys come from?" Mizuiro asked.

"But then if they're over there, who's inside?" Ishida noted, as they all glanced toward the tent. Suddenly the tent's zip came undone, and out came Renji, on all fours as he crawled out of the tent, he felt the stares of…well of a lot of people. He hesitantly looked up to see more people than he expected staring back at him.

"…O-Oh hey guys…what's up?" He smiled awkwardly at the group, and then quickly remembered Byakuya behind him. Renji proceeded to crawl out of the tent and stand up, Byakuya following after. The dark haired man ignored everyone's stares and got out of the tent with as much grace as one could. "S-so…isn't it a nice day—."

"Nii-sama, Renji what were you doing in our tent?!" Rukia cut Renji off.

"Nii-sama?!" Keigo gasped. "You mean he's your brother Rukia-chan?!"

"Wait I thought he was Abarai's guardian or something like that." Mizuiro commented.

"Ok, what exactly is going on here?" Tatsuki sighed, and ran a hand through her hair.

"How about we start with what the hell you two were doing in our tent?!" Ichigo pointed at Byakuya and Renji.

"Or how about we start with where the hell were you two this whole time, huh?!" Renji returned the finger point back at Ichigo and Rukia.

"Yeah where were you guys?!" Keigo joined in.

"W-well that's…" Ichigo looked away, rubbing the back of his head.

"So that means you're really not Abarai-kun's guardian?!" Mrs. Mochizuki suddenly popped out from some bushes behind them.

"Mochizuki-sensei?! Where did you—?"

"That doesn't matter!" She put a hand up, as if to say no one was to talk. "I'm telling this to the rest of the teachers and then they'll—."

"What's going on here?" Everyone turned around to see Ukitake and Kyoraku standing there.

"Ukitake-sensei! Did you hear?! Byakuya-san isn't Abarai-kun's legal guardian!"

"I already know." Ukitake smiled calmly, despite the crazed look on Mrs. Mochizuki's face.

"T-then why…did you let them share a tent?"

"Because he thought it'd be fun. You see this guy here loves to torture people~" Kyoraku grinned and leaned an arm on Ukitake.

"Stop it Shunsui." Ukitake sighed. "I let them share a tent, because they are very well acquainted, so I didn't see a problem with it."

"Well acquainted?"

"Well yes. Since I'm close friends with Renji, it's only natural that he would be close to my brother as well." Rukia added.

"I-I guess that makes sense." Mrs. Mochizuki said.

"Now, why don't you get some rest Mochizuki-sensei? You look exhausted. We'll wake you for breakfast." Ukitake told the curly haired teacher, who obliged and wearily walked to her tent.

"What was that about?" Ichigo asked.

"Don't ask…" Renji sighed. "Anyways…what were we talking about again?"

"Hm I…don't really remember…" Ichigo answered.

"Was it something about breakfast 'cause I'm starving!" Keigo exclaimed.

"Yeah me too. Ukitake-sensei, what're we eating for breakfast?" Renji, Keigo and Ichigo walked over to their white haired teacher, completely oblivious.

At that time, Rukia and Tatsuki both thought the same thing, "_Idiots…"_

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After everyone had eaten breakfast, Ukitake was telling everyone about their next activity. "You see that hill over there with those beautiful sakura trees are? We're going to be taking a hike up to those trees, and enjoy our lunch there."

"T-that sounds amazing Ukitake-sensei~" A female student swooned, just imagining spending time together with Ukitake among the beauty of the cherry blossoms.

"Ah there's also a rumor about those trees you know?" Kyoraku said. "It says that if you engrave your name and the name of the person you love into the trunk of one of those trees there, you will be together forever." Kyoraku smirked, as many of the students began murmuring and getting excited about it.

"Why are you telling them things like that?" Ukitake whispered to Kyoraku.

"What? I did it a while back when I came here, and it worked for me. I'm still with that person." Kyoraku explained, with a grin. Ukitake couldn't help but return the expression.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So are you guys going to do it? The thing with your name and the person you love?!" Keigo asked excitedly as they were all hiking up the hill.

"Alas…I have no such one person I want to share my life with right now." Mizuiro sighed.

"Dude what're you talking about?! Don't you have all those older woman who're in love with you?" Keigo asked.

"That's it, there's just too many to pick from…" Mizuiro replied, calmly.

"Damn you Mizuiro…you traitor!!" Keigo sobbed.

"Well you can always write Arisawa's—."

"Noooo!!" Keigo cried out. "Shut up! Stop it!!" He begged and ran ahead of Mizuiro to avoid anymore of the shorter guy's comments.

"He's seriously pushing for this whole Tatsuki - Keigo couple isn't he?" Ichigo sighed.

"So what about you?" Renji asked.

"Me? Well I think you shouldn't force them to like each other and if they ever come around then maybe—."

"No you idiot!" Renji cut him off. "I meant are you gonna' carve your names onto a tree?"

"W-why'd you say it like that?"

"Well I mean you and Rukia—."

"Shut up!" Ichigo jammed his palm onto Renji's mouth to prevent the red head from speaking any further. "D-don't say it so loud! And besides I thought you and Byakuya didn't want us together or something." Some loud incoherent muffling sounds came out, so Ichigo decided to remove his hand from Renji's mouth.

"Mpphh…" Renji wiped his mouth, "…Well Byakuya-dono's just like that because it's the rules, and plus Rukia's his little sister." Renji said. "As for me…even if I say or do anything it won't stop you two from liking each other right?" Renji sounded surprisingly reasonable.

"When'd you suddenly start thinking to use your brain?" Ichigo smirked, and Renji grinned as well.

"Shut up idiot."

"Hey Renji…thanks."

"Yeah whatever…but you know approval from me means nothing compared to Byakuya-dono's. And if by some freaking miracle you get that—"

"Yeah yeah I get it man…" Ichigo sighed. "It ain't gonna be easy…but it'll be totally worth it."

"Hey what're you guys talking about?" Rukia appeared behind them.

"N-nothing!" Ichigo and Renji answered at the same time.

"Hmm…" Rukia stared at them suspiciously. Her expression then changed to a smile. "Heh when'd you guys become such good friends?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So are you going to write your name with Kurosaki-kun's?" Hikari asked Orihime.

"E-eh?! W-well I-I—."

"I'm pretty sure you can only do that with the person if your feelings are mutual." One of the Ukitake fan girls commented.

"No I don't think it matters." Hikari replied.

"Are you saying I didn't fully listen to Ukitake-sensei's words?!" The fan girl got in Hikari's face, clearly enraged over the supposed accusation.

"C-calm down…I didn't say that!" Hikari said.

"Besides…it was Kyoraku-san who told us about that, not Ukitake-sensei…" Miyuki added.

"Oh yeah that's right!" The girl's demeanor completely changed to that of a peaceful high school student.

"A-anyways…" Miyuki sighed. "What about you Hikari? Do you have anyone special in mind?"

"Yup! I'm going to write Abarai-kun's name!"

"Ehhh? Since when did you start liking him?"

"Since I found out he has a hot body, duh!" Hikari explained as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"OMG you are so shallow!" Miyuki squealed.

"What? Can a girl help it? Besides Kurosaki-kun already has too many girls after him and Ishida-kun has a crush on Orihime-chan. Abarai-kun on the other hand seems completely available. I thought he liked Rukia-chan, but he said he only saw her as a sister that one time at school remember? And he doesn't seem to have any interest in any other girls, so it's perfect!"

"Hm I guess…" Miyuki agreed. "But…I mean do you really know anything about him? What if he's actually a total jerk?"

"Che of course I know him!" Hikari waved a hand at Miyuki.

"Oh yeah? What's his favorite color?!"

"Well that's…um…that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things!" Hikari retorted.

Miyuki sighed, "Pathetic excuse."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ok everyone, we'll be having lunch in fifteen minutes, so in the meantime feel free to relax and enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossoms." Ukitake announced. "You're free to go off on your own, but don't wander off too far."

"Yes sensei!"

"Hey Rukia…can we talk?" Ichigo grabbed Rukia's arm, then looked around. "…In private?"

"Sure." Rukia nodded and followed him. They walked in silence until they reached a secluded area; their only company being the trees surrounding them.

"Ok, look." Ichigo leaned against one of the tree's trunks, crossing his arms. "Are we…y-you know?"

"Ichigo, what are you talking about?" Rukia blinked.

"I-I'm talking about…" Ichigo blushed and looked away. "Us…I mean are we d-dating?"

"Hmmm." Rukia had an intense thinking look on her face.

"What the hell are you thinking so hard about?!" Ichigo sweat dropped. "I mean we both confessed, so doesn't that mean…that we're together…or whatever?"

"I guess it does!" Rukia answered, as if the realization had just dawned on her. Ichigo just stared at her and sighed, not able to believe that this was the person he was in love with.

"So anyways…" Ichigo ran a hand through his hair.

"Does that mean we should engrave our names onto the trees?!" Rukia asked, eagerly, taking out her Chappy pocket knife. "Remember what Kyoraku-san said about it?"

"Che…I don't need something like that to guarantee how long we're together." Ichigo said, making Rukia blush.

"W-well yeah but…" Rukia looked away.

"B-but I'll do it anyways." Ichigo finished and took the knife from Rukia. She smiled at him, as he crafted an 'I' onto the Sakura tree. "Hey are we keeping this a secret? Because then we shouldn't write our names."

"Hm that's true. Besides I think we should wait a while to tell…_certain _people." Rukia pointed out.

"Yeah…" Byakuya's face flashed through Ichigo's mind. "Ok how about I'll write the first and last letters of our first names."

"Shouldn't we just write our initials?" Rukia suggested.

"Nah that's too obvious." Ichigo replied, as he finished carving out the letters. "There, done." He stood back and admired his work with an approving nod. There was a roughly carved I.O. followed by a plus sign, then an R.A. "Wow it looks really cheesy looking at it like this…" Ichigo sighed.

"Y-yeah it does…maybe I should add a charming illustration—?"

"No way." Ichigo interrupted too quickly. "Let's just go."

"Hmph fine." Rukia pouted, as they started walking. "You didn't have answer so fast…anyways can I have my special edition Chappy pocket knife back?" As soon as Ichigo handed her the knife, she turned and dashed.

"Hey come back here!" Ichigo grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close to him. "No way in hell am I letting you carve one of your stupid drawings into the tree!"

"I just wanted to personalize it!" Rukia attempted to squirm out of Ichigo's grip.

"Its fine the way it is!" Ichigo groaned, as he squeezed Rukia tighter.

"What about just a little picture of Chappy?"

"Yeah that's makes sense to have a picture of that stupid thing near a freaking love promise!"

Rukia chuckled, "I can't believe you actually said that out loud…love promise…"

"S-shut up!" Ichigo blushed. "It's not like you—." Ichigo was silenced by the very slight, yet certainly there, sound of someone clearing their throat. They both turned around, Ichigo still holding Rukia in his arms to see the person they probably least wanted to see standing there.

* * *

**A/N**

Hehe I'm pretty sure everyone will guess who was standing there…but c'mon I had to end the chapter somewhere.


	24. A Misunderstanding

Hey everyone thanks so much for the reviews. Hehe will it be Byakuya or Orihime? You're about to find out! I apologize for not updating last week. Ah and I felt I should mention I haven't exactly planned out the ending to this story yet, but I have a feeling it will be ending in a few more chapters.

**Chapter 24 A Misunderstanding**

"S-shut up!" Ichigo blushed. "It's not like you—." Ichigo was silenced by the very slight, yet certainly there, sound of someone clearing their throat. They both turned around, Ichigo still holding Rukia in his arms to see the person they probably least wanted to see standing there. Well at least that's who they thought it was going to be…however they instead found Orihime standing there, clearly surprised to see them there.

"S-sorry!" the auburn haired girl suddenly said with a blush. "I-I didn't mean to interrupt anything I just…"

"Ah no it's ok!" Rukia said, and then glanced up at Ichigo, who didn't seem to notice he was still holding onto her. "Uh Ichigo…" Ichigo glanced down at Rukia, released her, and then awkwardly ran a hand through his hair.

"S-so anyways…we should probably head back now…" He said.

"R-right!" Rukia agreed. "Are you coming Inoue?"

"Huh? O-oh yeah you go on ahead, I still have something to do…" She answered with a smile. Rukia and Ichigo looked at her then at each other hesitantly.

"Well ok then." Ichigo said, and the two of them walked off leaving Orihime alone. She watched them leave then walked over to a tree that was right next to the one Ichigo had carved his and Rukia's names into. She nervously brought out a pen.

"_I wonder if this'll work…"_ She wondered, and attempted to make a mark on the tree with the writing tool, and instead ended up breaking her pen.

"Byakuya-dono?" She heard a voice call from a distance, and hurriedly stuffed the broken pen in her pocket. She looked up to see Renji walking towards her.

"A-Abarai-kun?"

"Oh Inoue have you seen—."

"Ah! There you guys are!" Keigo's voice rang from between the surplus of sakura trees. He was followed by Mizuiro and Tatsuki. "We're gonna have lunch now, so Ukitake-sensei told everyone to come back!"

"Oh ok…" Renji replied, and as they began to leave, Mizuiro held back Tatsuki and Keigo

"Mizuiro what's wrong…?" Keigo asked his shorter friend. Mizuiro pointed to the I.O. plus R.A. carved onto a tree.

"Oh someone did that thing—wait a minute…I.O. is Inoue Orihime…" Tatsuki pointed out.

"And R.A. is Renji Abarai." Mizuiro finished.

Oh my god!" Keigo shouted out, until Tatsuki silenced the loud mouth with her palm.

"Shut up." She scolded him in a hushed tone. "Look, maybe this is…not what it seems."

"It's unexpected, but we did see them alone together, and this seems to be the result." Mizuiro commented.

"But…Orihime would have told me if she…" Tatsuki looked upset.

"Hey we don't know anything for sure!" Keigo announced. "It's probably...uh…m-maybe it's just…"

"Thanks for trying…" Tatsuki sighed. "But it's pretty obvious; I mean who else could it be?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ah there you are Renji," Rukia greeted her friend as she caught sight of him walking towards her with Orihime, Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro a little ways away. "Do you know where Nii-sama is?"

"I don't know...." Renji frowned, "what makes you think I know?"

"Dude are you seriously asking that question?" Ichigo chuckled. "You haven't left his side since we saw him in the hot springs."

"S-shut up…" Renji looked away, trying to hide his pink-tinted cheeks. "I thought he might have gone off somewhere alone to enjoy the cherry blossoms…but…"

"That makes sense, since Nii-sama loves the cherry blossoms so much." Rukia agreed.

"But, you know…Byakuya-dono…I don't think he's getting any blood—."

"Inoue Orihime and Abarai Renji are dating!" Keigo spurted out, making everyone stare at him.

"You idiot!" Tatsuki slapped him over the head. "How could you just blurt it out? We promised to keep it a secret!"

"I-I know…but I just couldn't help it!" Keigo cried. "Forgive me!"

"Excuse me but did you just say Abarai-kun and Orihime-chan are dating?" Hikari asked.

"That's what I heard." Miyuki said.

"Orihime-chan?" Hikari pulled Orihime aside to speak in private. "I thought you liked Kurosaki-kun! How dare you try to steal my future man?"

"I-I didn't—I mean I don't—." Orihime stuttered.

"Just forget it…it was obvious Kurosaki-kun didn't have feelings for you anyways, so I guess it works out for everyone...well except me." Hikari sighed, crossing her arms. On the other hand Orihime was in shock. She probably knew what Hikari said about Ichigo's feelings was true, but it still hurt to hear out loud.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hey man, nice!" One of Renji's fellow students came up to him and said, before giving him a thumbs up and rejoining his other two friends, who sent the gesture Renji's way as well. Renji just sighed and took a bite out of his sandwich. He noticed Rukia and Ichigo from the corner of his eyes, staring at him. "What are you looking at?" He said, bits of bread crumbs decorating his face. "Look I'm not dating her…I barely said two words to her and I—."

"We know." Rukia said, wearing a guilty expression. "Renji…" Rukia looked nervously at Ichigo, then back at the red head. "We were the ones who wrote that."

"What? Why would you two write somebody else's—?"

"It was our names!" Ichigo cut him off. "The first two letters of our first names…we didn't realize it spelled out your and Inoue's initials…"

"That…that's so stupid!" Renji laughed, catching his two friends off guard. "Who's idea was that? Don't people just write their initials?"

"Sh-shut up!" Ichigo defended, folding his arms and looking away.

"Renji we're going to tell everyone the truth, so people don't keep misunderstanding." Rukia explained.

"Right now?" Renji asked. "Isn't it a bit too soon? Besides Byakuya-dono will hear as well, and we all know that won't turn out well."

"But then people will keep thinking that you and Inoue are dating."

"I don't care about that." Renji paused to take a sip of his water. "That whole thing'll blow over eventually, but you guys won't get to be together if the council finds out."

"Renji…" Rukia smiled, then reached out and hugged her best friend. Renji was a little taken aback, but soon returned the hug.

"Ahem…" Ichigo cleared his throat, interrupting the touching moment. "H-how much are you gonna hug for? Jeez…"

"Aw is someone jealous?" Rukia giggled and poked Ichigo's face.

"Yeah I'm jealous of Byakuya because he doesn't have to be here to see this." Ichigo remarked dryly.

"Why can't you just admit it huh you fool?" Rukia grabbed Ichigo by his shirt collar.

"Admit what? I have nothing to freaking admit!" He grumbled, they both glared at each other for a long period of silence

"Hey hey before you guys start making out…" Renji interrupted, snapping Rukia and Ichigo out of their intense staring contest. "Tell me how it happened?"

"How what happened?"

"How you guys got together."

"T-that's…" Rukia blushed.

"W-why do you need to know that?" Ichigo was blushing as well. "What are you a teenage girl, asking questions like that…"

"Wooh it must of been some hot confession…" Renji whistled.

"S-shut up!" Ichigo and Rukia said at the same time.

"So how far have you guys gotten—."

"Y-you better stop!" Rukia warned. "Or we'll have to get involved with your love life remember?"

"Psh I don't even have a love life." Renji smirked.

"He says proudly." Ichigo sighed.

"Well then how about that dream?" Rukia asked. "I think I already know who it is, anyways. Its someone who's shorter than you has dark hair—." Rukia was cut off by Renji who clamped his hand over her mouth and dragged her out of listening distance of Ichigo.

"Look, I don't know how you came to that conclusion but I don't like Byakuya-dono like that ok?" Renji whispered.

"Hmm…I don't think I ever mentioned Nii-sama." Rukia pointed out with an innocent expression, making Renji gasp. "I believe I said the person was short, which doesn't really narrow it down since you're pretty tall Renji, so almost everyone you know is shorter than you. I also said the person had dark hair, but well this is Japan, and a lot of people have dark hair. Even after that, dark doesn't necessarily mean black, there's Yoruichi-san's violet hair, and even Kyoraku-san's hair could be considered dark to some." Rukia explained. "So basically I came to that conclusion just now when you mentioned Nii-sama." She said with a satisfied smile, causing Renji to blush.

"L-look don't—."

"Nii-sama!" Rukia exclaimed, cutting Renji off. "H-how long have you been there?" Renji didn't dare turn around to see the noble's face, fearing how much he had heard.

"Long enough." Was Byakuya's simple, curt answer. Renji gulped and turned to face Byakuya, however the noble merely passed him by without so much as a glance. "Rukia, I need to talk with you…alone."

"Ah yes Nii-sama." Rukia replied politely, despite being taken off guard. She sent a sympathetic glance Renji's way, and then proceeded to follow Byakuya. Renji watched the two Kuchiki siblings walk off, silently. He then felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Ichigo.

"Hey…I kind of heard…" Ichigo said, guiltily, "…You ok?"

"A-ano…Abarai-kun!" A shrill voice came before Renji could answer.

"Inoue?"

"T-that…on the tree…I didn't do it!" Orihime sputtered.

"Well that's kind of obvious…" Renji sighed, unintentionally sounding bitter.

"Huh?" Orihime blinked.

"Nothing…" Renji avoided Ichigo's warning glance. "Look just ignore it and everyone will forget about it eventually…" Orihime still looked like she needed to say something. "What?"

"A-ah nothing…I just…was wondering whose names were actually carved onto that tree."

"T-that's…" Renji looked to Ichigo for some assistance.

"Not really important…is it? I mean it could have been somebody from years ago for all we know." Ichigo explained, with an uncomfortable expression.

"Y-yeah!" Renji agreed, equally as uncomfortable.

"O-oh…I guess you're right." Orihime agreed.

"Hime! Come here for a second!" They heard Chizuru calling.

"I-I better go." Orihime gave them a slight, nervous smile and ran off to join her friends.

"That was close…" Ichigo sighed, and then noticed the troubled expression on Renji's face. "Hey man…what's wrong?"

"What Byakuya-dono wanted to talk about with Rukia…I wonder what it was."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Nii-sama, what is it that you wanted to discuss?" Rukia asked her older brother once they were alone.

"The council has found a suitable dhampir partner as well as a supplier for Kurosaki Ichigo." Rukia's eyes went wide after hearing the news, but she managed to maintain her composure. When she chose to remain silent, Byakuya continued. "They had found a dhampir earlier, but had decided to wait until both a supplier and dhampir were found so both could be officially introduced at one time."

"…Nii-sama, I mean no disrespect, but shouldn't Ichigo be here to hear this rather than me?" Byakuya paused for a second before continuing.

"There will be a meeting with the council the day after you return to Karakura to make everything official." Rukia looked down and nodded politely, not knowing what to say. There was no point arguing with Byakuya, besides that being extremely rude, it was also pointless. This wasn't Byakuya's doing, it was the Council's. Rukia knew this, but she also knew Ichigo wouldn't accept any of this.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Rukia and Byakuya are taking a long time…" Ichigo sighed and glanced at his watch. "Lunch is almost over and then we're going to have to head back—oi Renji are you even listening?" Ichigo shoved the red head out of his stupor.

"W-what is it?" Renji practically shouted, in a flustered manner.

"What're you spacing out for?"

"N-no reason…" Renji looked away, tattooed brows furrowed. Ichigo was about to say something, when he spotted Rukia coming towards them. He was about to make a rude remark, until he saw the serious look on Rukia's face.

"What happened? Did that bastard Byakuya—."

"No." Rukia cut him off. "It's not that." She paused for a moment, eyes downcast. Ichigo waited silently for her to continue. "Ichigo, I'm going to tell you something very important, but you have to promise not to freak out."

"Well that depends on what you're going to tell me…" Ichigo eyed her suspiciously.

"Ok…what Nii-sama and I were talking about just now was that the council found a dhampir partner and a supplier for you. And the day after we go back home there's going to be a meeting to make it official. " Rukia waited for a reaction that never came. Ichigo had a look of relief on his face. "Uh Ichigo…?"

"Why would I get mad after hearing that? Isn't this good? Now we can be together without any of that stupid dhampir-pure blood partner rule garbage getting in the way."

"No stupid." Renji sighed. "Even if you aren't in a partnership with a dhampir you still can't have a relationship with one. Pure bloods and dhampirs aren't allowed to be together."

"What the hell? That's just stupid…how can somebody else tell us who we can and can't be together with?"

"Well it wasn't my idea." Renji looked away bitterly.

"We gotta do something about this then." Ichigo decided.

"Do something about it…? What exactly is it that you intend to do?" Rukia asked.

"Well you said there's going to be a meeting right?"

"Yes, with the council…but what do you think we should just tell them we're in love and they can't stop us?" Rukia suggested sarcasm obvious in her voice.

"Mmm…kinda yeah." Ichigo scratched his head.

"You idiot!" Rukia slapped him over the head. The frown that was present on her face turned to a smile. "Ok let's do it."

"R-really?" Ichigo gasped.

"Why do you look so shocked? It _was_ your idea."

"Yeah…but I didn't think you'd actually go for it…"

"You guys are seriously gonna do that?" Renji asked.

"What do you mean 'you guys,' you're coming with us too Renji!" Rukia announced.

"Me? Why me?"

"Because you're involved in this too." Rukia answered.

"How am I involved?"

"Well you don't agree with the no-dhampir-pure blood-relationships law do you Renji?" Rukia patted Renji on the shoulder. "So you have to come and support us among other things." Renji merely folded his arms and turned away.

"Hey maybe we shouldn't push him? Besides he just got rejected by you-know-who, so this is kind of like putting salt on the wound." Ichigo whispered to Rukia.

"He was _not_ rejected." Rukia hissed. "Besides Renji needs this, so does Nii-sama, trust me."

"Fine…but are you sure he wasn't rejected? I mean blatantly ignoring someone after they just confessed their undying love for you sure sounds like a rejection to me."

"Hey I can still hear you!" Renji shouted, with flushed cheeks.

"Ah sorry…" Ichigo sweat dropped.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Inoue-san…is it true?" Ishida asked as he and Orihime were sitting among the cheery blossoms.

"Eh? What're you talking about Ishida-kun?"

"You and Abarai—."

"N-no! It's not true!" Orihime quickly defended. "It's not true at all! It was just a misunderstanding!"

"Really? I'm glad." Ishida smiled.

"E-eh?" Orihime blushed and suddenly her heart started pounding. Ishida cheeks were pink as well as he adjusted his glasses.

"W-well it looks like it's time to go back." He said quickly and got up to leave. Orihime got up as well and followed, still confused and awkward about what had just happened.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ah Rukia-chan there you are." Ukitake walked up to the short girl. They had returned to the campsite a few hours ago and the sun had already gone down, leaving the stars and the moon to brighten up the dark sky.

"Ukitake-sensei, is something wrong?"

"Ah no, it's nothing like that. Your older brother just left."

"He left?"

"Yes. He said he had some things to take care of and had to return home. He also told me to tell you that he expects your presence at the meeting on Saturday." Ukitake explained.

"Oh I see." Rukia nodded. "Thanks for telling me Ukitake-sensei."

"Sure." The white-haired man smiled.

"Um sensei…" Rukia glanced at Ichigo and Renji from the corner of her eye. They were arguing on about something while Keigo was crying, Chad watching, and Mizuiro trying to calm them down. "Did Nii-sama…did he say anything else?"

"Hm? No, I don't recall anything else. Was there something on your mind?"

"Ah no its nothing." Rukia gave her teacher a reassuring smile.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ah Abarai-kun! I heard the great news!" Mrs. Mochizuki squealed in excitement.

"Uh great news?" The red head asked.

"Yes! That you're dating Inoue Orihime! She's such a cute girl, I'm so happy for you!" Mrs. Mochizuki gushed. "And that you sent Byakuya-san packing. You finally told him to leave you alone, I'm so proud!"

"…W-what?" Renji blinked, not sure if he heard correct. "Byakuya-dono's…gone?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So this might be our last night together." Rukia said as she and Ichigo lay in their sleeping bags.

"Stop saying stupid things like that." Ichigo sighed and turned to his side, his back facing Rukia.

"Hm…I guess it is stupid." Rukia murmured, as she gazed at the back of Ichigo's head. She had a sudden desire to run her hands through his spiky orange hair, to touch his warm skin again. Rukia quickly shook her head in an attempt to erase all the perverse thoughts that were suddenly running through her mind. "Are you even a guy?" She groaned in exasperation. There was no answer, so Rukia assumed Ichigo was sleeping and continued. "How come I'm the only one who's having urges in this relationship?"

"…I'm too tired to be horny. Sorry." Ichigo answered without turning around. Rukia clamped her own mouth shut with her hands from surprise and embarrassment.

"I-I didn't mean those kind of urges! I meant...the-the urge to beat you up!" Rukia lied.

"Yeah, sure that's what you meant." Ichigo replied, still not turning around. Rukia couldn't help but snort at his blasé attitude.

"Well good night then." Rukia said, attempting to sound cold. "Hey Ichigo…" She said a few minutes of silence later.

"Hmm?"

"I…I love you." There was more silence, then Ichigo, without turning around reached his hand back and took Rukia's hand into his own squeezing it tight and not letting go. Rukia smiled contently, and closed her eyes falling into slumber.

* * *

**A/N**

I just love writing those cheesy tent scenes! I imagine Renji spent his night crying himself to sleep poor fellow…but it's not really my fault since he's so easy to torture.


	25. A Hunger

Hey new chapter finally! Yes I took a bit of a hiatus from writing...but I'm back for now! Thanks for the reviews and your patience! Hope you enjoy! Oh right and I thought I should put this warning, just in case. Even though you all probably saw something like this coming eventually.

**Warning: **Contains slight Slash a.k.a. Boy's Love content. Don't worry there isn't _that _much (I think)

**Chapter 25 A Hunger**

"Well good night then." Rukia said, attempting to sound cold. "Hey Ichigo…" She said a few minutes of silence later.

"Hm?"

"I…I love you." There was more silence, then Ichigo, without turning around reached his hand back and took Rukia's hand into his own squeezing it tight and not letting go. Rukia smiled contently, and closed her eyes falling into slumber.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Rukia…Rukia wake up!" The inky haired girl forced her tired eyes open to see a figure staring down at her. It was too dark to make out exactly who it was. As she sat up and rubbed her eyes, she looked to her side to see that Ichigo was fast asleep. "Who…Renji?" Rukia guessed.

"Yeah." Renji turned on a flashlight and faced it upwards so she could see that it was him.

"What are you doing so…early?" Rukia grabbed Ichigo's watch which was still on his wrist to see that it was 3:30 in the morning.

"It's about Byakuya-dono…I don't think he was getting any blood while he was here."

"Really?" Rukia was more awake now. "You mean since he came to the hotel?"

"He didn't have any suppliers with him, and I never saw him drinking any blood juice boxes." Renji explained.

"Renji, are you sure? This could be very dangerous for both Nii-sama and anyone around him."

"Yeah I know…damn it I shouldn't have let him leave." Renji looked down solemnly.

"It's not your fault, ok?" Rukia put a hand on Renji's shoulder. "You know we should tell Ukitake-sensei about this."

"Yeah I'm on it, oh and you should probably wake up sleeping beauty over there too." Renji gestured towards the snoozing carrot top beside Rukia.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"I see…" Ukitake nodded, after Renji and Rukia explained to him about the situation with Byakuya.

"…Why didn't you think of this before?" Ichigo asked, while sleepily scratching his head.

"I…I was…" Renji looked down.

"It's ok Renji, that's not important anyway. What we need to concentrate on now is to make sure Nii-sama is safe." Rukia explained.

"Yes, Rukia-chan's right." Kyoraku agreed.

"Maybe we should phone him?" Ukitake suggested.

Rukia nodded, while heading to her tent. "I'm not sure if I'll get reception…" Her voice trailed off as she disappeared in to her tent. She reappeared, cell phone in hand. "I got reception!" She exclaimed, and clicked to phone her brother. There was a pause. "Hello? Nii-sama?" The four men looked up.

"Rukia…what is it?" Rukia let out a sigh of relief at the sound of Byakuya's emotionless voice.

"Nii-sama, are you alright?" Rukia asked. "Renji said you haven't been getting any blood while you were here."

"D-don't use my name!" Renji whispered hoarsely to Rukia, as to not let Byakuya hear. Rukia ignored him and waited for Byakuya's response

"Nii-sama?"

"…Renji said that?" Byakuya's voice sounded strange all of a sudden, he sounded…shaky.

"Yes he did Nii-sama." Rukia sent a slight smirk Renji's way. "Is it true then? That is, about not having any blood?"

"I—" Suddenly the line went dead.

"Hello? Nii-sama are you there?" Rukia shouted into the phone to no avail. "The phone went dead! I think Nii-sama—"

"Kyaaa!" A woman's shriek rang through the campsite.

"What the hell was that?" Ichigo gasped, looking around wide eyed.

"It sounded like it came from close by." Kyoraku said, serious for once. "I'll go check it out."

"I'm coming too!"Rukia announced. "I think Nii-sama is close by."

"We'll split up." Ukitake explained. "I'll go this way with Shunsui."

"Rukia and I'll go this way." Ichigo pointed towards one side of the forest. "Renji, you stay here."

"What? No way in hell! If Byakuya-dono's out there I'm coming too!"

"But Renji someone has to stay here to protect the camp." Rukia explained.

"I know but…damn it I just…" Renji punched the nearby bench.

"I'll stay." Ukitake stood up.

"Ukitake-sensei…you will?"

"Yes, now hurry! Someone's in danger."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Oh my god! What are you doing?" Mrs. Mochizuki screeched, wide eyed at the sight before her. She had decided to take a nightly stroll and happened to stumble upon an isolated cemetery. She decided this is not the place she wanted to be, alone in the middle of the night, but as she was about to leave, something caught her eye right outside of the grave yard: a collapsed body. For some bizarre reason, she moved closer to see that the body belonged to the one and only Byakuya Kuchiki, and then she let out an ear splitting scream that could probably be heard for miles.

"…Quiet. You'll wake them up." Byakuya slowly forced himself off the dirt ground. Once he managed a sitting position, he took a handkerchief out of his pocket and began to wipe some crusted dirt smeared on his face. His clothes had been stained with soil from falling on the ground.

"Byakuya-san? What are you doing here? I thought you went home? Why are you on the ground?" Mrs. Mochizuki continued spewing out questions, irking Byakuya.

"If you shut up, I will answer your questions." The noble stated, retaining his cool demeanor.

"Hmph! You don't have to be so rude!" Mrs. Mochizuki pouted. "Well I guess we should get you back to camp."

"No…I'm not—." Byakuya was interrupted by his cell phone ringing.

"Ah its coming from over there!" A voice could faintly be heard through the silent darkness of the night. Mrs. Mochizuki hastily turned around.

"Yes! We're over here!" She shouted towards the voice. Soon enough, Rukia and Ichigo appeared.

"Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-kun?" Mrs. Mochizuki blinked.

"Nii-sama!" Rukia quickly stuffed her cell phone, which she had just used to call Byakuya, back into her pocket. "What happened? Are you ok?" She ran up to him with Ichigo not too far behind.

"Rukia…?" Byakuya asked hazily, his vision becoming blurry. "I…"

"Nii-sama its ok, we're going to take you back to the campsite." Rukia explained.

"No…it's…" Byakuya collapsed before anymore could be said.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Where is he?" Renji, with Kyoraku not far behind, rushed towards Ichigo and Rukia, who were standing outside the tents. The two, along with Mrs. Mochizuki had managed to bring Byakuya back to the campsite successfully.

"He's in there. Ukitake-san's checking to see if he's ok." Ichigo explained and gestured towards the tent.

"Is he ok…?"

"I don't know." Rukia answered, her eyes drifting towards the tent. Just then Ukitake came out.

"He's going to be alright…" Ukitake said, allowing everyone to breathe, "But…he's suffering from severe starvation. You were right Renji I don't think he's had blood in quite some time. I gave him a bit of blood substitute just now, but what he really needs is real blood."

"So how are we gonna get him some blood?" Ichigo asked. "Don't you have any suppliers with you Ukitake-sensei?"

"Actually I don't, Shunsui and I have been surviving on blood substitutes. However for Byakuya-kun's condition I think he needs real blood."

"But how are we going to get a supplier here?" Rukia asked.

Well we were thinking…" Kyoraku glanced towards Mrs. Mochizuki who was standing a ways away, pacing back and forth. This gave Renji a lump in his throat.

"You mean…seriously? Mrs. Mochizuki? Doesn't she hate him? And she doesn't even know about vampires and all that." Ichigo pointed out.

"Well she's the only human available right at this moment, and I think she wants to help." Ukitake stated.

"…Can…can I see him?" Renji asked, wearing a stiff expression.

"Yes, go ahead." Ukitake nodded. After Renji went in, Ichigo turned to Ukitake.

"Can't we just let Renji do it?" He asked the older man.

"Well…I don't think Byakuya-kun would allow it." Ukitake answered.

"Allow it? He's half dead!"

"Yes, but Nii-sama can be very stubborn, especially with rules and laws."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

As soon as Renji shut the tent's flap, he turned to see Byakuya lying there, still. Renji hesitantly sat down next to the pure blood. On closer look, the noble was quite pale, and there were beads of sweat pouring down from his flawless facial features to his bare chest. Renji's heart ached, as he reached out, gingerly to touch the older man's cheek. His finger tips felt a shock of how warm Byakuya's skin was. "Byakuya-dono…" Byakuya began to stir, causing Renji to immediately retract his hand. Slowly, porcelain skinned eyelids opened, and icy blue eyes were staring back at Renji.

"…Renji?"

"…Y-you're ok?" Renji averted his gaze.

"I…I'm sorry." Byakuya almost whispered. Before Renji could respond, Ukitake crawled in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but it's vital that you drink some blood." He explained.

"I'll be fine." Byakuya stated, and forced himself to sit up, becoming dizzy in the process.

"We thought you could drink Mrs. Mochizuki's blood." Ukitake advised, while Renji looked away.

"No, I don't need it." Byakuya replied, noticing Renji's pained expression from the corner of his eye.

"Byakuya-kun, I really think you—."

"Just give me some blood substitute."

"I gave you a bit after you fainted, but that might not be enough, compared to real blood." Ukitake tried to explain.

"It will be enough." Byakuya was clearly done with this conversation, not willing to continue this dispute.

"Fine, I will get some more." Ukitake sighed, giving in. As he left, Renji decided to follow him out.

"Renji." Byakuya's voice halted the red head.

"…Yeah?" Renji turned back around, but still avoided Byakuya's eyes.

"Is there something wrong?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"You won't look at me." Renji felt his face flushing at those words.

"I…that's not it." Renji tried to keep his cool. "I-I just think that you should drink Mrs. Mochizuki's blood."

"…Do you really want that?"

"Well I think that—."

"Renji, I didn't ask what you thought about it I asked if that's what you wanted."

"Huh?" Renji blinked. He had no idea why Byakuya was asking what _he_ wanted. "It's not really about…what I want is it?" He scratched his head awkwardly.

"I suppose not." Renji could still feel the other man's eyes on him.

"Uh…well I guess I should go then." Renji was stopped when his wrist was grabbed from behind. "Byakuya-dono?"

"Renji…" Byakuya pulled the other's wrist closer, causing Renji to fall back into sitting position.

"W-what's wrong?" Renji blushed, looking down at the hand that was now holding his own.

"Its smells delicious…your blood." Byakuya gingerly touched a small cut that was on Renji's finger. He then grasped the younger man's tan hand with both his paler ones, bringing it closer to his face.

"B-Byakuya-dono w-what are you—." Renji tried to cover his tomato red face with his free hand, as Byakuya's lips gently touched his skin.

"Renji…do you—."

"Byakuya-san! Are you ok?" Mrs. Mochizuki's shrill voice surprised both men as she stuck her head into the tent. Renji immediately pulled away from Byakuya's grip and escaped to the opposite corner of the tent, covering his heated face with his hands. "Hm? You were here Abarai-kun?" Mrs. Mochizuki noticed as she crawled inside.

"H-hey Mochizuki-sensei." Renji answered without turning around.

"I would think something suspicious is going on with you two, but Abarai-kun already has a cute girlfriend!" Mrs. Mochizuki smiled proudly. Byakuya raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. "So it's not like he would do anything with you Byakuya-san! Because he has a _girlfriend_!" Mrs. Mochizuki emphasized. "A very cute and smart _girlfriend_!" She was giving Byakuya the stink eye by now.

"Is that so?" Was Byakuya's cool and collected response.

"Yes! That is so!" Mrs. Mochizuki snapped. "It's completely so!"

"I see."

"So how are you feeling?" Mrs. Mochizuki asked. "Ukitake-sensei said you collapsed due to hunger. Did you eat anything?"

"I was about to." Byakuya had to use every ounce of discipline he had to hide a smirk, as he noticed Renji's ears turn red. "So if you would kindly leave." He said to Mrs. Mochizuki.

"Well! I practically saved your life and this is the thanks I get?" Mrs. Mochizuki huffed and puffed and almost blew her own house down, as she exited the tent.

"Are you going to remain there forever?" Byakuya asked.

"…maybe…" Renji answered, not budging one inch. Byakuya stared at the tattoos on Renji's tan neck, his stomach leaped, his heart throbbed. Why this was happening, Byakuya had no idea. He could not explain his actions before, he tried to pass them off as just teasing, but wait—when does he ever tease people in such a way? Or in any way at all?

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"How is he sensei?" Ichigo asked, as Mrs. Mochizuki walked up to the nearby bench that Ichigo, Rukia, Kyoraku, and Ukitake were sitting at.

"He's ok. I asked him if he ate anything, and he said he was just about to. Then he told me to leave. So rude!" She scoffed. Everyone stared at each other in amazement.

"Was…Renji in there with him by any chance?" Rukia asked.

"Yes, why?" Mrs. Mochizuki asked confused by the looks the other four were exchanging.

"No reason…" Rukia smiled.

"Well," Mrs. Mochizuki shrugged. "I'm going to sleep, this was too exhausting." At that she headed inside her own tent, hopefully to catch a few Zs before sunrise.

"I wonder if there's still a use for any more blood substitute." Kyoraku grinned.

"I don't know if we should just assume anything…I mean this is Byakuya we're talking about. You know the guy with a stick up his ass? Why would he just forget the rules like that?" Ichigo pondered.

"Because of love Ichigo!" Rukia had sparkles in her eyes.

"Yeah…but didn't he reject Renji that time before?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"B-Byakuya-dono…" The noble looked up. Renji had turned around to face him, but didn't come any closer.

"Yes?"

"T-that time before you left…you know before you took Rukia aside to tell her about the council finding a dhampir partner and supplier for Ichigo. D-did you…hear what Rukia and I were talking about?"

"…I don't recall anything."

"R-really?" Renji gasped.

"Yes. Why?"

"No reason!" A grin formed on Renji's face which quickly turned back into a flustered expression, when he looked straight at Byakuya. "B-but then…" Renji had just reminded himself of what had happened earlier before Mrs. Mochizuki came in.

"Renji…"

"Hm? W-whoa?" Suddenly Byakuya was right next to Renji. "W-when did you…?" Byakuya didn't know himself what exactly had overcome him, most likely a thirst for blood, he figured, as he inched closer and closer to the flustered teen. "B-Byakuya-dono i-if you're hungry, I-I can get Mrs. Mochizuki!"

"Why do I need her…when you're right here?" Byakuya gently touched Renji's reddened cheek with a delicate hand. What the hell was he saying? Why was he doing this? These questions rang through both their heads. Byakuya felt like he no longer had control. His head was telling him no, but his body refused to listen.

"M-me…?" Renji breathed, wide-eyed. "L-look…maybe you just need to rest for awhile…yeah?" He tried to ease away from the milky skinned hand upon his cheek, but instead he ended up stumbling backwards slightly, with only his tanned elbows, propping him up to prevent his back from touching the ground. Byakuya had advanced much more by now as he crawled on top of the tattooed boy, his knees surrounding Renji's hips.

"Renji…" Byakuya's lips were now a mere centimeter away from Renji's, causing the latter to forget how to breathe. "Do you…not want this?"

"I…uh I-I wahhhaa…" Renji was rendered unable to form coherent speech patterns at this point.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hmm it's strange that Nii-sama is being so forward…" Rukia put a finger to her chin

"Isn't it stranger that you're sitting outside of his tent listening to him being 'so forward?'" Ichigo sighed and knelt down next to her.

"Ehh? Why would that be strange?" Rukia blinked, obliviously, camera in hand.

"Well then what's that camera for?"

"…This?" Rukia held up the Chappy adorned item innocently. "Oh this is for…well if the opportunity to take a picture of the…situation inside the tent arises, then I thought I should take it."

"And why would you need pictures?" Ichigo eyed her suspiciously.

"O-obviously to…to s-show to the council! Yeah! If anything should go wrong, we can always show them this picture to let them know, we're not the only ones, who've committed this so called sinful act!" Rukia exclaimed. "Ooh that's actually a good idea. There must be other pure bloods who've drank from dhampirs before! Maybe we can rally them all together, and go meet the council as a group to try to convince them that this law is pointless?"

"…You just thought of that all on the spot didn't you?"

"Who knows?" Rukia smirked.

"You do! You're the one who just—."

"Excuse me!" Mrs. Mochizuki suddenly appeared.

"M-Mochizuki-sensei?" Ichigo gasped. "L-look, did you manage to hear any of that stuff we were talking about…? Because that's just—."

"I heard all I needed to hear!" The curly haired woman announced.

"And…what exactly was that?"

"Don't try to play dumb with me kids! I heard the words 'situation inside the tent' and 'sinful act!' I know what's going on in there!"

"…Uh are you serious? Those are the only words you heard of the whole conversation?" Ichigo wore a deadpan expression. "And didn't you go to sleep?"

"Ichigo, don't try to push her!" Rukia warned.

"I know…but how could she have not heard anything else we were saying? Did she just choose the words she wanted to hear? What do they call that? Selective hearing?"

"Ichigo shut up!" Rukia slapped him over the head.

"What the hell? Excuse me for being concerned that our teacher has a serious problem!" Ichigo roared.

"She's a teacher! She's supposed to have problems!" Rukia yelled back.

"Um excuse me…I can still hear you." Mrs. Mochizuki commented, not looking too pleased.

"Oh now she listens..." Ichigo muttered, while rolling his eyes.

"Now on to important matters! I must look in this tent!" Mrs. Mochizuki had a gallant expression. "I don't know what I'll find! I don't know if it may scar me for life! I don't know if I'll have a nosebleed! I might even—!"

"Excuse me." All three looked toward an opening in the tent to see Byakuya's head sticking out. "It's too noisy, and I'm trying to rest."

"Oh my, we're so sorry! We'll keep it down because God knows you should get all the rest you're tiny heart desires!" Mrs. Mochizuki all but spat on the dignified man's face. "And another thing! Where is Abarai-kun? And what in Heaven's name are you doing to him? Let me see him right now! I demand it!"

"He's…" Byakuya glanced behind him for a brief moment, and then turned back around. "Sleeping." He finished and began to zip the tent back up.

"S-sleeping? That's the biggest lie I've ever heard in my entire life!" Mrs. Mochizuki ranted on.

"Do you really think he's sleeping?" Ichigo whispered to Rukia.

"It's possible. I felt tired the first time you drank my blood." Rukia whispered back.

"D-don't say that so openly!" Ichigo blushed.

"Y-you asked!" Rukia's cheeks were turning pink as well.

"…And then the FBI will come! And when they do, the sandwich you ate for lunch will not be accepted!" Mrs. Mochizuki finally finished her hair brained story.

"W-what the hell was she even talking about?" Ichigo sweat dropped.

"…I don't eat sandwiches." Byakuya answered calmly, causing Mrs. Mochizuki to begin pulling her hair out.

"He was actually listening?" Ichigo shouted in disbelief.

"If that is all…" Byakuya began to zip the tent back up again.

"No wait! I need to see Abarai-kun to make sure he's really ok!"

"Mrs. Mochizuki, if I didn't know any better, I would say you had some sort of outside affection for Renji. Am I wrong?" Byakuya stated, in an unruffled manner.

"W-what are you even saying? Stop trying to turn this on me and make me out to be the creepy cougar lady when that's obviously—!"

"Ok, Mochizuki-sensei, how about you calm down and go have a rest?" Ukitake put a gentle hand on the frazzled teacher's shoulders. "You see you're waking the children up with your…passionate voice."

"They're only just waking up? We've been making noise for an hour and they're just now waking up? What kind of children are those? Did they wear gun mufflers all night long?" Mrs. Mochizuki's freakish yelling continued for a few more seconds, until Ukitake jabbed her with some kind of needle, injecting some unknown fluids into her arm. Five seconds later she collapsed to the ground.

"W-what was that?" Ichigo asked nervously.

"Oh just a little something to help her sleep for a few hours. Don't worry it's perfectly harmless." Ukitake smiled and dragged the unconscious teacher in his arms, with the assistance of Kyoraku, to her tent.

"_Note to self: Never piss Ukitake-sensei off_." Ichigo thought.

* * *

**A/N**

That's the lesson for today kids. Don't mess with Ukitake or he'll inject you with mysterious liquids. (Unless you want him to.) I won't judge. Anyways…about this ByaRen stuff…I think it's obvious that I fail at subtlety. So to celebrate my failure, and if I get a lot of reviews (because I'm greedy) a super long chapter next time with hopefully some more IchiRuki in it!


	26. A night before

Hey, thanks for the reviews! I know I promised a super long chapter, but instead I give you this piece of blah that's not even that much longer than a usual chapter. I'm really sorry, but it kind of ended up being a transition chapter of sorts…Anyways I really wanted to update before I go off to my family's house for Thanksgiving. Well hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 26 A Night Before**

"Ok, Mochizuki-sensei, how about you calm down and go have a rest?" Ukitake put a gentle hand on the frazzled teacher's shoulders. "You see you're waking the children up with your…passionate voice."

"They're only just waking up? We've been making noise for an hour and they're just now waking up? What kind of children are those? Did they wear gun mufflers all night long?" Mrs. Mochizuki's freakish yelling continued for a few more seconds, until Ukitake jabbed her with some kind of needle, injecting some unknown fluids into her arm. Five seconds later she collapsed to the ground.

"W-what was that?" Ichigo asked nervously.

"Oh just a little something to help her sleep for a few hours. Don't worry it's perfectly harmless." Ukitake smiled and dragged the unconscious teacher in his arms, with the assistance of Kyoraku, to her tent.

"_Note to self: Never piss Ukitake-sensei off_." Ichigo thought.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Renji just tell me! C'mon!" Rukia poked the red head for the twentieth time that morning. Ever since Renji had woken up, Rukia wouldn't leave him alone, and continued pestering him to tell her what happened a few hours prior with Byakuya.

"I-I already told you! Nothing happened!" Renji reiterated.

"Then why're you blushing?" Rukia teased, while jabbing her friend's shoulder playfully.

"I-I'm not! Look I'm serious nothing happened." Renji sighed, as Ichigo walked up to the twosome.

"Hey Rukia, where'd the blood juice boxes go? I'm hungry." Ichigo asked.

"Oooh that's right! So did Nii-sama drink your blood? How much did he drink? Where did he bite you? On your neck or your—."

"Uh excuse me, hungry vampire here." Ichigo put a hand on Rukia's shoulder, which she promptly ignored and followed after an irritated and flushing Renji. "What the hell? Rukia!"

"Just leave me alone!" Renji begged, as he tried to escape from Rukia, continuously looking over his shoulder to be sure she wasn't there anymore. He paused when he realized he was alone, standing a ways away from some green tents that were still pitched. People had begun packing up their tents, as everyone was preparing to head back to the hotel. He breathed out in relief and looked up at the serene blue sky, silk clouds floating across like rippling waves.

"Abarai-kun!" Renji hastily turned around to see Hikari standing there.

"…Uh...yeah?" To be honest Renji wasn't exactly sure who this girl standing before him was. He knew he'd seen her before, but didn't recall her name.

"So I was just wondering…" She giggled for no apparent reason. "Are you and Orihime-chan dating?"

"…Huh? Oh that…no it was just a misunderstanding." Renji scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit out of it, considering he hadn't slept much the night before.

"Really?" Hikari squealed. "T-then do you…like someone?" Now Renji had been called stupid many a times, by many people, and those people wouldn't be wrong, but even Renji knew where this conversation was going.

"Aha! There you are! I'm so glad you're safe Abarai-kun!" Mrs. Mochizuki appeared, seemingly out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around the tattooed teen.

"Mochizuki-sensei?"

"Excuse me sensei!" Hikari tugged at the teacher's paisley patterned sleeve. "Can you please stop hugging my future boyfriend so much? It's a bit creepy!"

"Boyfriend?" Renji gasped.

"How dare you call me a cougar?" Mrs. Mochizuki roared.

"I didn't even say that!" Hikari shouted back.

"Um…excuse me?" The three turned around to see a dark haired young man standing there.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ok so I made a list of possible people who could have broken the dhampir/pure blood rule." Rukia fished a Chappy notebook out of her pocket and opened it up. "Of course we'll probably have to check with everyone when we get back home…"

"Hmm…" Ichigo was still sucking on the straw of his blood juice box. "You're really fired up about this."

"Of course! We could change a rule that has been set in stone for hundreds of years!" Rukia exclaimed. The two, after letting Renji get away, were sitting in their tent. They were supposed to be packing their stuff up.

"Isn't there also another reason…?"

"Hm? Ah well yes of course then Nii-sama and Renji—."

"No you idiot! I-I'm talking about us!" Ichigo sighed.

"I-Ichigo...you know that's obvious." Rukia placed a hand over his much larger one.

"W-What is?"

"That we're one of the main reasons, why we're trying to make this happen. Why we have to change this law."

"Y-yeah…but you were kind of making it seem like we were an afterthought or something." Ichigo pouted, gaze falling on their touching hands.

"Heh, what? Are you jealous?" Rukia snickered.

"Yeah…I am!" Ichigo exclaimed, pout still present, cheeks the color of strawberries. Rukia was a bit taken aback by his honesty, but got over it quite quickly, seeing at how strangely adorable Ichigo was acting. She reached up, her fingertips touching his flushing cheek.

"Well there's no need to be." She smiled, before pressing her lips to his.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"It was AB- wasn't it?" Byakuya asked.

"Ah the blood substitute I gave you after you fainted?" Ukitake said. "Yes, how did you know?"

"I see…" Was Byakuya simple response, although in his mind, things weren't so simple, _"So that's why I was acting that way…towards Renji?" _While he felt mostly relieved that it was due to the love spell side effects of the AB- blood substitute, another part (a very small one) felt almost disappointed. After, his wife, Hisana had passed away; Byakuya had promised himself he would never love again, figuring no one could ever take her place and not wanting anyone to. However even stoic, cold Byakuya Kuchiki felt lonely sometimes, the thought that maybe, just maybe he could feel that way again…that he could have those stomach flip flops and rapid heartbeats of a new love. No, he couldn't let himself think that. Because for someone like him…it's impossible.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ah…so that's what happened." Ishida nodded.

"Pretty much." Renji sighed.

"You're quite popular with the ladies, aren't you?" Ishida adjusted his glasses. After helping Renji escape from Hikari and Mrs. Mochizuki, the red head decided to help Ishida fold up his tent, since Ishida's tent mate, Chad was made to help the teachers pack the heavier items.

"N-not like I asked for it…" Renji muttered to himself, but Ishida heard him anyways. "But aren't you popular too Ishida?"

"W-what are you talking about?" Ishida flushed slightly.

"C'mon like Inoue's not always hanging around you!" Renji shoved the bespectacled boy playfully.

"No, it's not like that." Ishida, said, feeling like he had been speared straight through the heart.

"You don't have to be so humble—"

"Inoue-san…she likes someone else." Ishida looked down at his feet.

"…You sure about that?" Renji asked.

"What do you mean?" Ishida was getting irritated, by Renji's seemingly blasé attitude. He didn't appreciate going into details and such about his unrequited love because it just brought more pain. "If you hadn't noticed…it's quite obvious—."

"That she blushes every time she talks with you?"

"S-she…does?"

"Or that you're the first person she rushes up to see in the morning?"

"I-I never noticed." Ishida blushed. "Abarai…when did you…?"

"It's just…I guess when you're in love, you notice these things with other people." Renji said, and then put his fingers to his mouth. "L-love…? Yeah I guess that's what it is. It really makes a difference when you admit it out loud." He nodded a bittersweet smile on his lips. Ishida looked at the other, quizzically, an expression that soon after changed to a small smile.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After everyone had packed up, and made sure to clean up the campsite, they were all ready to set off on the trail back to the hotel.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok Nii-sama?" Rukia asked both her and Ichigo holding their bags. "You haven't had anything beside blood substitutes."

"I'm fine." He answered, "Let's go." As Byakuya turned to leave, he ended up face to face with Renji.

"A-ah!" Renji's eyes went wide. "Bya—!"

"Excuse me." Byakuya stated, and walked past Renji.

"W-wait Nii-sama!" Byakuya paused at the request of his younger sister. "This can't go on!" Her brother and best friend both stared at her in confusion. "You two need to work out whatever is happening between you!"

"W-what…?" Renji blinked face turning a light shade of pink.

"All this avoiding each other, no eye contact, stuttering, and awkwardness are too much!" Rukia explained. "Honestly, it's so tense for anybody who's even in the same room with both of you!"

"…What is it, you want us to do?" Byakuya asked, clearly taken aback by the younger Kuchiki's bluntness.

"When we get back home, you two have to sit down and discuss your feelings!" Rukia instructed.

"Excuse me?" Byakuya did everything in his power not to sputter the words out.

"Nii-sama, you must do this, for both your and Renji's sakes. Neither of you will have peace of mind until you figure this out." Rukia told the older Kuchiki.

Byakuya turned to Renji, hesitantly. "Perhaps Rukia is right."

"Y-yeah…" Renji nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets, eyes glancing downwards, and his cheeks still bubblegum pink.

"It decided then. "Byakuya noted, turning to leave, only glancing at the red head from the corner of his eyes. Somehow Renji's bashful expression gave the noble a fluttering in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't ignore.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

It was already late afternoon, when they made it back to the hotel. They were planning to stay overnight at the hotel, and then depart for home the next morning via bus. Since everyone was pretty hungry, they all went to their respective rooms to freshen up, then headed for the hotel's seafood restaurant.

"Ahh…this shrimp is really the best~" Keigo grinned stupidly, and then began crying. "B-but…this is the last day of the trip…all our beautiful high school memories…" He sniffled.

"Did someone give Asano-kun the wine again?" Ukitake asked, clearly concerned.

"Ah no don't worry about it, he's always like this." Mizuiro explained.

"Geez, you get emotional too easily…" Tatsuki sighed.

"W-well sorry for having a heart!" Keigo cried, and ran off to the bathroom.

"Hey Rukia…" Ichigo sat down next to the petite girl. "Do you really think they'll work it out?" He looked to Byakuya who was sitting alone, until some female teachers approached him, as Renji watched from the salad bar.

"I hope so…no, they will, I'm sure." Rukia answered, nodding confidently.

"Let's just hope they didn't take as long as we did." Ichigo smirked, and put an arm around Rukia. Surprisingly Byakuya remained at the table he was at, somehow managing to fend off the female teachers. Of course the death glare he was sending Ichigo from across the room was still quite noticeable. Renji also sat by himself, however he wasn't alone for long, as his own odd gaggle of fan girls (Hikari and Mrs. Mochizuki) joined him. This caused Byakuya to halt his death glare on Ichigo to focus on Mrs. Mochizuki who was once again fawning over Renji's well being and relationship status. Byakuya then got up, and purposefully walked by Renji's table, causing the red head to stare at him, like a lost puppy who'd just found its owner, so much so, that Ichigo and Rukia could almost see Renji's tail wagging (if he had one). "Wow…those two are really…"

"Yeah…" Rukia chuckled. "They're so cute aren't they?"

"Well I was gonna say stupid." Ichigo said, wearing a dull expression. "Oh god…I just remembered something…"

"What?"

"I have to share a room with them."

"Bwahahaha!" Rukia began laughing hilariously.

"W-what the hell? Why are you laughing?" Ichigo flustered. "S-shut up, you're too loud!"

"It's too funny! Hah I can just imagine—I-Ichigo what're you—?" All of a sudden Ichigo pulled Rukia under the table, "Ichigo? What's wro—?" Suddenly Ichigo's lips crashed into Rukia's, rendering her speechless. It was a gentle kiss and when they broke apart, Rukia was confused to say the least. "W-what was that?" She whispered, and blushed at the same time.

"It's the best way to make you shut up." Ichigo declared, also in a hushed voice, appearing very pleased with his method.

"Y-you're such…an idiot!" Rukia lightly punched him in the arm, still red in the face, trying to hide a smile.

"Hey…what're you guys doing under the table?" They both gasped and turned around to see Renji staring at them.

"N-nothing!" They both blushed and quickly got out from underneath the table.

"Heeehhh so you guys were-."

"No!"

"Touchy~" Renji smirked. "I was just gonna say looking for a fork you dropped or something...but I guess I now know how bold you guys are willing to be."

"S-shut up..." Ichigo growled, while trying to conceal his reddened face.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

The next morning, after everyone had eaten breakfast, they all began loading into the bus.

"How'd it go?" Rukia asked. "Last night I mean."

"Hm it was fine…oh yeah except for the excessive awkwardness."

"I see…" Rukia nodded. "Not to worry! After we get home and they talk about it and Nii-sama realizes he loves Renji, then the only awkwardness that you'll feel when you're with them is that they're being too touchy and it's embarrassing!"

"Am I supposed to feel good about that?" Ichigo sighed. "Anyways…we're sitting together this time."

"Really?"

"Yeah I switched back my seat number with—."

"Hime!" Chizuru glomped the unsuspecting auburn haired girl. "We're sitting together!"

"E-eh?" Orihime gasped. "O-ok…" She surprisingly didn't feel too bad about not being able to sit with Ichigo as she thought she would.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

As Rukia and Ichigo found their way to their seats, they saw something red lying on the seat behind their own seats. On closer inspection it was in fact Renji, huddled up in the fetal position, sleeping. Immediately Keigo jumped into the bus, and began to burst into tears once again.

"Noo! It really is over!" He cried.

"Calm down…" Mizuiro sighed. "Come here and sit down, and I'll tell you a story."

"Eh? Ok…wait it's not that Ruth eating that arm story is it?"

"Of course not." Mizuiro smiled calmly, as he sat down next to his high strung friend. "Once upon a time there was a teenage girl named Rochelle."

"Hm ok…"

"And she loved boys…_a lot_. So one night while she was on a date with this boy named Charles she got a call from her mother…She told her mother she was busy with Charles and that she had no time to talk and hung up. However her mother kept calling over and over that even Charles was getting concerned."

"Hm this doesn't seem that bad…" Keigo smiled.

"So when Rochelle finally answers the phone all she could hear was a tune…danananana…Batman!"

"...Huh?"

"No…she realized that it was just her batman theme song ringtone. So she answered the phone for real this time and when she did…ah I got a text." Mizuiro looked at his phone. He then began typing on the little keypad, completely forgetting about the story.

"Mizuiro! What about the story?" Keigo cried. "What happened to Rochelle?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Shells were rolling around in the sand on a beach somewhere. Wait why were those shells rolling? Forget that! Why are there pink bunnies dancing a jig near the ocean? Wait little Mr. Hoppers don't dance too close to the waves or you'll—ah never mind…Mr. Hoppers, you will be missed. Wait! Who's that man jumping into the ocean? Wow he saved Mr. Hoppers! Thanks you strange shirtless man! Long live strange shirtless man! Wait strange shirtless man what are you—

"…Rukia…Rukia wake up!" Ichigo nudged the petite girl.

"Hnn…?" Rukia drowsily opened her eyes, and scratched her head. "Strange shirtless man…?"

"Huh?"

"N-nothing!" Rukia said quickly. "A-are we there yet?"

"Yeah, we got here 5 minutes ago." Ichigo answered. They were the only two left in the bus that was parked in the school parking lot. The sky had darkened, and everyone else was outside, greeting their parents who had come to pick them up, collecting their luggage, etc. As Rukia followed Ichigo out of the bus, Byakuya was waiting for them.

"Are you being picked up?" The noble asked Rukia, who looked to Ichigo.

"I don't know…I think my dad usually has a late shift on Fridays."

"I'll drive you then." Byakuya stated.

"Both of us?" Ichigo asked, quite surprised.

"Yes." Byakuya raised an eyebrow, as if this question was utterly stupid.

"What about Renji?" Ichigo queried.

"…What about him?" Byakuya replied, his response seemingly icier then before.

"Are you driving him? Since you're both going to the same place anyways…" Ichigo continued, unfazed.

"I…didn't ask him." Byakuya admitted.

"Well go on then." Ichigo instructed. "Don't let the poor guy walk all the way home." As much as Byakuya hated being ordered around by anybody especially anyone he deemed an "insolent brat," he walked over to Renji, who had just fished his bag out of the holding chamber.

"Come Renji, we're going." The noble, of course as was custom of the two lately, didn't spare Renji a glance, however Renji didn't need it, as he looked almost too happy to comply.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Thanks for the ride Nii-sama. Are you sure you don't want to come inside?" Rukia asked, as she got out of the front seat of Byakuya's car.

"No, it quite alright." Byakuya refused Rukia's offer.

"You guys better not do anything!" Renji whispered to Ichigo, before the carrot top exited the car.

"S-shut up!" Ichigo hissed. "Besides my sisters are probably home!"

"Oh? So you would definitely do something if no one was home?" Renji fake gasped. Ichigo grumbled and chose to not answer the red head, as he got his and Rukia's bags out from the trunk.

"Well ok then," Rukia stood in front of Byakuya's side of the car, with Ichigo already heading inside with the bags. "Bye Nii-sama, bye Renji. Ah and remember the talk you two need to have." The two men responded with silence.

"Hey Rukia…you coming?" Ichigo called from the front door.

"Yeah!" Rukia called back to Ichigo, then turned back around to the car, gave a small smile and waved, as Byakuya turned the key, turning on the engine. Byakuya watched Rukia follow Ichigo inside, and then began to drive off. Renji, who was sitting in the back, looked out the window, up at the starry sky, trying to ignore the heavy silence that engulfed the car. It would just be a short drive and then he could collapse into his bed, and finally have some proper rest…

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Renji."

"H-hmm?" Renji was woken out of his doze, to realize that the car had stopped. They were parked in front of some dark alley on some deserted street. Byakuya was still sitting in the driver's seat.

"Wh…where are we—?" Renji tried to ask as Byakuya stepped out of the car, and began walking into the shady alley. Renji opened his door, and ran to catch up to the other man. "Byakuya-dono?" Renji shouted. "Where'd you—?" Suddenly a door opened behind him revealing a soft orange glow of light. Only then could Renji see the noble standing in front of the door.

"This appears to be a good time for that talk Rukia mentioned." Byakuya stated.

"W-what? Now?" Renji stammered. "B-but what is this place?"

"Come in and see for yourself." Byakuya said, and gestured for Renji to enter. As Renji approached the door, there was nothing but a shiny metal staircase standing there, leading to who knows where. After shutting the door behind them, Byakuya began walking up the surprisingly clean stairs. Renji could do nothing but follow. They walked up several flights of stairs, when they finally reached a carpeted hallway, with cocoa colored walls and low lights. Byakuya continued down the hallway passing several white doors. When they got to the door at the end of the hallway, Byakuya turned the rustic door knob, to reveal a classy evening lounge type place. There were cream carpets, and one side of the restaurant was full windows, allowing the sparkling city lights to shine through the night sky into the lowly lit restaurant.

"Ah Kuchiki-san is it?" A man with straight blonde bangs, deadpan eyes and a toothy smile walked up to them. He had on a waiter's uniform, which consisted of a white shirt, black trousers, black vest, and black bowtie. "Haven't seen you here in years." He said. "Who's this?" He glanced at Renji, who stiffened up. "Ehhh don't tell me you finally went out and got yourself a p—."

"Show us to our seats." Byakuya interrupted, composed as always. The waiter managed a chuckle but gestured for them to follow him.

"Uh," Renji turned to the waiter, as they walked, "I'm not—."

"Heh I know." The man smirked. "You must be his dhampir partner right?"

"W-what? How'd…"

"Didn't your partner tell you? This restaurant is especially for vampires. That's why it's such a head ache to get here…" The blonde explained, as he stopped at a red leather upholstered booth that seemed to be more to the corner of the restaurant, making it more of a private spot. "Your seats." He gestured, and as they sat he handed them their menus. "You're waiter will be with you shortly, enjoy~" At that, the man took his leave.

"This place really is for vampires…" Renji realized as he opened up the menu and there were several blood types listed.

"Renji."

"A 'bloody Mary' huh? I wonder what that is." Renji laughed to himself, clearly distracted by the menu.

"Renji." Byakuya repeated himself, maintaining his composure.

"Yeah?" Renji looked up absently, and managed to stare straight into Byakuya's eyes. He immediately ducked his head behind his menu to hide his flushed face. "_Crap I forgot!"_ The red head mentally slapped himself, for completely forgetting about Byakuya, but also for acting like some shy school girl with a crush. Of course he couldn't really help doing the latter. On the other hand, Byakuya was quite alright with Renji hiding his face behind the menu, because then the noble didn't have to see the red head's blushing face, which somehow gave Byakuya a strange feeling.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Nii-chan! Rukia-nee-san!" Yuzu ran up to the two, the moment they walked through the front door and wrapped her arms around Ichigo.

"Hey Yuzu." Ichigo smiled as he returned his sister's embrace. He noticed Karin, with her arms folded standing there, trying to keep her cool. "Hey Karin…"

"Ichi-nii…" Karin replied with a nod for a greeting. Ichigo smirked and patted her on the head, ruffling her short black hair.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Renji,"

"Y-yeah…?" Renji asked from behind his menu.

"Your menu is upside down."

"Huh? It is?" Renji began to flip it over, when there was a slam on the table. They both immediately looked up to see a young blonde girl with choppy pig tails staring back at them.

"Uh…this is…?"

"What does it look like? It's a slice of cake dumbass." She grunted, with a dry expression, and then turned to leave. As soon as she turned the corner, they heard some yelling.

"Oi Hiyori! Did you just call our customers dumbasses?" It was the blonde man who had shown them to their seats.

"So what if I did d***head?" They heard the blonde girl shout back.

"You can't call the customers that you idiot!"

"They were just sitting there not even bothering to order! What the hell was I supposed to do huh?" Hiyori yelled, causing the customer to start staring.

"Well you could'a had some class for once! Oh wait I forgot that's impossible for someone as unfeminine as you—oww!" They heard a cry of pain, some more yelling, then some doors slammed, and the voices grew fainter. Everyone eventually went back to what they were doing before: enjoying their meals, talking, laughing, etc.

"…Renji." Byakuya began, "I…apologize"

"Huh?" Renji blinked. "For what?"

"For what happened that time in the tent."

"A-ah that…" Renji blushed after remembering what Byakuya was referring to.

"It was the effects of the AB- blood substitute."

"…AB- blood substitute? Oh yeah…Ukitake gave you that after you collapsed." Renji nodded. The whole situation now made sense to Renji. It wasn't really Byakuya acting that way, that thought didn't surprise Renji, but it still hurt. "W-well I guess that's figured out now huh?" Renji decided to return things to normal as quick as possible to temporarily avoid his slightly hurting heart. "So…about that meeting for Ichigo tomorrow. Do you have some kind of plan or something? I mean I guess not since this is what you want right? Ichigo and Rukia getting torn apart and—."

"Renji…is something bothering you?" Byakuya asked noticing Renji's excessive blathering.

"Bothering me?" Renji looked away, accidently biting his tongue. "Look…these rules that say dhampirs and pure bloods can't love each other…I just…can't accept it, that's all."

"Is this really about that?"

"W-what? You think this is about you?" Renji couldn't help but scoff. "About what happened when you were under the AB- effects, I don't care…well it's not that I don't care, but what do you want me to do about it? It's not like you care about me, and I know that already, so I'm over it."

"Renji…do you…do you like—."

"N-no!" Renji sputtered out before thinking. "N-no I don't…" The red head looked away, disgusted with himself for not being honest.

"I see…" Byakuya seemed to be slightly relieved at this answer, which stabbed Renji's heart deeper.

"C-can we just go…?" Renji sighed, just wanting to collapse into bed and forget all this ever happened.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ok, well I'm going to take a shower." Rukia announced. "Care to join me?"

"W-what?" Ichigo splurted out the blood substitute he was sipping at her suggestion.

"C-calm down! It was just a joke!" Rukia blushed at his overreaction.

"I-I knew that!" Ichigo tried to regain his composure, but failed.

"Uh huh…sure you did." Rukia smirked.

"S-stop being so annoying! Just go already!" Ichigo blushed, clearly frustrated, as he sat down on his bed.

Rukia couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh yes about tomorrow…the meeting starts at 9 a.m."

"Hm…ok…" Ichigo nodded.

"And what blood type is that?" Rukia asked.

"It's B, why?"

"You probably should have taken a type you've already tried before so nothing unpredictable happens for the meeting tomorrow." Rukia explained.

"Yeah, but all the ones I've tried have weird ass side effects…except for…uh I think it was A-, that gave me insomnia."

"Well I guess there's nothing we can do about it now. Just try to get some sleep and we'll be fine for tomorrow." Rukia assured.

"Yeah." Ichigo nodded. "Besides…what's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

**A/N**

What's the worst that could happen? Leave it to Ichigo to ask such a stupid question…Next time: The Council meeting! Oh and to those who it applies to, Happy Thanksgiving!


	27. A Funeral

I'm back! I guess I kind of took a little (or long) break from this story because I was seriously stumped on how to continue it, but the story shall go on…or something like that.

**Chapter 27 A Funeral**

"And what blood type is that?" Rukia asked.

"It's B, why?"

"You probably should have taken a type you've already tried before so nothing unpredictable happens for the meeting tomorrow." Rukia explained.

"Yeah, but all the ones I've tried have weird ass side effects…except for…uh I think it was A-, that gave me insomnia."

"Well I guess there's nothing we can do about it now. Just try to get some sleep and we'll be fine for tomorrow." Rukia assured.

"Yeah." Ichigo nodded. "Besides…what's the worst that could happen?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Rukia awoke to a loud huffing in her ear, and realized that her blanket became much heavier. As she opened her eyes, she squinted through the morning sun which was shining all too brightly. Wait a second. How did the sunlight get through the closet door? That's when she realized the closet door had been opened, and there were some feet hanging out of it. Those feet were attached to the heavy weight that was on top of her and the heavy weight turned out to be a…person? No, it wasn't a person, it was Ichigo. (Who technically is a person/vampire thing…you get the point.)

"I-Ichigo?" Rukia gasped. "What are you doing?"

"Mmm…five more minutes…" Ichigo groaned semi-consciously, as he snuggled closer to her.

"Y-you idiot! Get up now!" Rukia's blushed and began nudging him away.

"Nnn…so loud…" The carrot top whined, as he groggily raised his head and began to rub his eyes.

"Ich-i-go…!" Rukia gritted her teeth, as she struggled to push Ichigo out of the closet. After fifteen minutes, she successfully managed to complete her task. Ichigo was now sitting on the floor whimpering and holding a pillow, with sleepy eyes.

"So mean…Why do I gotta wake up so early on a Saturday?"

"…It must be the side effects of the B blood substitute." Rukia sighed, as she watched Ichigo crawl back into his own bed. She got out a container of B blood substitute to check what the side effects were. "Hm…stomach aches, excessive sweating, drowsiness, childish behavior. Well that's it." Rukia figured. "But then, why were you sleeping with me in the closet?"

"'Cause…" Ichigo looked away. "I-I had a scary dream."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"It's cold…Why is it so freaking cold?" Renji muttered to himself as he walked down the hallway of the vampire establishment. Perhaps his broken heart made the weather all the more frigid? Who's to know? The red head was reluctant to be up before noon, but he had to attend the meeting for Rukia and Ichigo's sakes. That's what he kept telling himself. "Yup…for the meeting!" Renji said out loud and raised a fist into the air as if to encourage himself.

"Renji!"

"Hm?" He turned around to see Rukia running towards him. "Rukia? What're you—?"

"It's Ichigo…"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ha ha funny pineapple head!" Rukia tried to stifle a giggle as Ichigo grabbed Renji's red ponytail. They were sitting in Rukia's room, and Rukia was telling Renji about what had happened to Ichigo.

"So…what? Aren't you just supposed to kiss him? Doesn't that make the effects go away?" Renji asked.

"Great thanks for volunteering Renji!" Rukia patted her friend on the shoulder, as if all was settled.

"Huh? Me? No I meant you!" Renji sighed. "He's your boyfriend isn't he?"

"No it doesn't work that way! It only works if someone of the same gender kisses him."

"Wait what? Since when?" Just then there was a knocking on the door.

"Y-yes?" Rukia called out. "Who is it?"

"It's me." Byakuya cool voice answered from the other side of the door.

"Nii-sama?"

"I'm coming in now."

"No wait—!" But it was too late. As Byakuya walked in, Ichigo immediately dropped Renji's ponytail which he was playing with, to stare at the fresh face.

"Who's that lady?" Ichigo asked and pointed to Byakuya. Rukia and Renji's jaws dropped.

"Y-you fool!" Rukia quickly moved to silence Ichigo. "S-sorry Nii-sama! He doesn't know what he's talking about! It's the effects of the blood substitute." Rukia explained, and then noticed Byakuya turning around and looking. "Um Nii-sama?"

"I don't see a lady." The noble said, unfazed.

"…Huh?" Renji and Rukia exchanged confused glances.

"M-maybe he didn't realize…?" Renji whispered to Rukia.

"Yeah, let's just play along." Rukia whispered back. "Ah that's odd! It must have been another effect of the blood substitute! It's...Hallucinations!" Rukia told her brother, as Renji nodded in agreement.

"I see…" Byakuya seemed to buy it.

"So…" Renji attempted to change the subject. "How'd you know Rukia was already here?"

Byakuya remained silent for a while. "…The meeting is in 30 minutes." At that he took his leave.

"…He just ignored the question?" Renji sighed. "I mean what's to hide? We already know he has those ninja spies."

"Hey I just noticed it isn't awkward with you two anymore!" Rukia pointed out. "Did you have that talk you were supposed to?"

"Mm yeah whatever…" Renji looked away and scratched the back of his head. "Anyways what are we going to do about Ichigo?"

"You can avoid the topic for now, but we're definitely talking about this later!" Rukia warned, then turned to Ichigo. "Now about you…"

"Me?" Ichigo blinked.

"Yes…" Rukia answered with a serious expression.

"I-I'm scared…"Ichigo whimpered.

Rukia nodded to Ichigo, "…You should be."

"Ugghh…" Renji sighed. "You owe me for this Rukia. Big time."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"The meeting to appoint an official dhampir partner and supplier for Kurosaki Ichigo will now commence." An elderly man in a business suit announced, as everyone gathered into a large extravagantly decorated room. There was a dark wooden podium at one end of the room in front of a large rectangular paneled window. Towards the middle of the room were several rows of pews, making the layout similar to a church.

"Whoa...what's with this place?" Ichigo whispered to Rukia, as he glanced upwards at the elaborate stained glass window designs that decorated the walls. He was now freed of the effects of the blood substitute.

"This is the PUR."

"…Partially ugly raccoon?" Ichigo guessed.

"Yeah—wait what? No you idiot!" Rukia sighed "It stands for Partner Union Room."

"Oh…"

"It's where the ritual to unite pure bloods to their dhampir partners takes place."

"It kind of like a church…and this all is feeling a bit too much like a marriage or something…I mean partner union? Really?"

"Well, similar to marriage, it is a partnership." Rukia replied.

"Oh" Ichigo nodded. "So then—."

"Yoruichi-san!" Soi Fon let out a surprisingly shrill voice as the purpled haired beauty as well as Urahara walked in wearing grim expressions. There were splatters of blood embellishing their clothes. Their appearance caused a stir in the vast and adorned hall, as people jumped into hushed whispering.

"Call off the union meeting." Yoruichi commanded.

"Has it happened again?" Ukitake rose from the pew he was stationed at, a concerned face. Yoruichi nodded solemnly in response, while Urahara remained still with his striped hat covering his eyes.

"What's going on?" Ichigo whispered to Rukia.

"Mm…I…I don't know…" Rukia had a crease in her brow as she folded her arms, and Ichigo could tell that she knew more than she was letting on.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Half an hour had passed and there was still no word of what had occurred to halt the meeting. Byakuya had instructed Ichigo and Rukia to go wait in Rukia's room until further notice.

"So…what'd you think happened?" Ichigo asked.

"I already told you, I don't know remember?" Rukia busied herself with adjusting the pillows on her bed.

"You know you can't lie to me Rukia. I know you know something, so tell me." Ichigo folded his arms and leaned back on the chair he was planted on.

"Look Ichigo, it's just something…that you're better off not knowing about."

"And why's that?"

"…Fine I'll tell you. Well this is what I think happened." Rukia paused for a moment to sit down across from Ichigo. "You know how pure bloods are only supposed to drink human blood from their supplier?" Ichigo nodded in response. "Well...the reason for this is that if pure bloods just drink blood from any human they can become addicted. As you know with addiction…it's never enough and they end up killing human after human. Eventually they lose their minds and become like monsters…only searching for human blood."

"…There's no cure?"

Rukia nodded. "Not that I know of." They both looked down solemnly, when Rukia's phone rang. "Hello?"She answered."Nii-sama? Yes he's here with me." She looked to Ichigo, and gave him a small smile, which then turned to a frown. "…I see…so when will the funeral be?" Ichigo's eyes went wide. "Ok, thanks Nii-sama. Bye." After Rukia hung up, she turned to Ichigo again.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked, worriedly.

"…I was right."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

The following week it rained as Ichigo and Rukia stepped into the cemetery that was behind the vampire's building. Following the other vampires, just a mass of black umbrellas and solemn expressions as they walked in front of a single gray tombstone each placing a singled flower by the stone. Ichigo felt sick to his stomach, not only because of the familiarity this held to going to his mother's grave every year, but a feeling of guilt. But for what he wondered? He didn't do anything wrong and he didn't even know the person who died. Later after the service was over, Ichigo and Rukia went to Rukia's room so she could get a few things before they went back to Ichigo's house.

"Ichigo…are you feeling ok?"

"Mmm I don't know…" Ichigo sat on her bed with his head in his hands.

Rukia sat down beside him. "Did you feel…guilty?" Ichigo immediately looked up. Rukia took that as a yes. "It's not that you did anything wrong…it's in your blood."

"What…what do you mean?"

"Whenever something like this happens, we have a funeral for the person even though we never knew them. We do this obviously to honor that person, and every single time we feel responsible for their death."

"But…why?" Ichigo asked.

"Because we're family." Rukia said. "When one member of the family harms a human, the whole family feels responsible. That's just how we live."

* * *

**A/N**

I know this chapter was superbly short, but I felt like it needed to end here. So basically this chapter was about Ichigo learning more about what he's becoming a part of, so sorry if it was kind of confusing.


	28. A visit

Hey thanks for the reviews! Since the previous chapter was so short, I updated quickly this time. But the thing is…this chapter is also kind of short…sorry.

**Chapter 28 A visit  
**

"Whenever something like this happens, we have a funeral for the person even though we never knew them. We do this obviously to honor that person, and every single time we feel responsible for their death."

"But…why?" Ichigo asked.

"Because we're family." Rukia said. "When one member of the family harms a human, the whole family feels responsible. That's just how we live."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

It had been a week since the funeral, and it was morning as Ichigo trudged along the sidewalk on his way to school alongside Rukia.

"Hey did you see the new Chappy catalog?" Rukia asked excitedly.

"Why would I have seen that…?"

"They had this toaster that makes Chappy's face on the toast! The things I would do if I had that toaster." Rukia said with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"You mean like make toast?" Ichigo snorted.

"Well it is just a toaster after all." Rukia folded her arms and nodded.

"Hey guys wait up!" They both turned around to see Renji running to catch up to them.

"Ah Renji!"

"Ugh what are you doing here?" Ichigo groaned.

"Geez what's his problem?" Renji asked Rukia.

"He didn't get much sleep last night because of the blood substitute." Rukia answered.

"Oh…well anyways any updates on Ichigo's partner union?"

"No. I guess they're putting it off for a while. So speaking of Nii-sama…"

"No one was speaking of "Nii-sama." So don't start Rukia." Renji sighed.

Rukia frowned. "Fine…whatever selfish pants."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ichigooooo!" Keigo took a running dash towards the carrot top but ended up crashing into a wall. "Why can't you just let me give you one manly hug?" Keigo cried as he rubbed his red nose.

"Hey Mizuru, what's up?" Ichigo greeted his tamer friend as he entered the school gym for dance class.

"Oh hey guys." Mizuru greeted, Ichigo and Rukia.

"Attention class!" Yumichika walked in with Ikkaku not far behind. "Ok! Is everyone here?"

"Why don't you take attendance and find out?" Ikkaku sighed.

"Oh right…" Yumichika nodded and took the attendance sheet from Ikkaku, stared at it for about fifteen seconds then gave it back. "So let's start class!" He grinned excitedly as he flipped his hair.

"What about attendance?" Ikkaku asked.

"I'm too beautiful to take attendance! Besides you're quite capable of doing it aren't you Ikkaku?"

"Are you trying to imply I'm ugly…?" Ikkaku sighed.

"No of course not!" Yumichika answered, as if he was just insulted.

"Hey Yumi-sensei, bald guy? Can't you save the lover's quarrel for after class?" A male student jeered.

"Hey! Who said bald huh?" Ikkaku exploded, as he picked up the boom box and threatened to throw it at someone.

"Now now Ikkaku…" Yumichika sighed.

"Why don't you finally find a female partner to dance with huh?" Chizuru yelled out.

"That's it!" Yumichika shouted. "The gloves are coming off now! Don't hold me back Ikkaku!"

"I'm not going to. If you beat up a student, you'll get fired and I won't have to do this anymore." Ikkaku smirked as he folded his arms.

"…Darn I forgot about that…" Yumichika put a finger to his chin. "Fine forget it then. Everyone get your partners, we'll be learning the tango today. Oh and has anyone seen Abarai?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Renji stumbled around for his cell phone that he had dropped in the grass while he was napping. He finally spotted it and clumsily picked it up. "H-hello?" He answered.

"Renji, it's me." It was Byakuya.

"O-oh yeah…I-I mean what's wrong?" Renji stammered, as he struggled to stand up.

"An important decision has been made by the council so come straight home from school. Tell Rukia and Kurosaki as well." Byakuya instructed.

"Uh yeah sure." Renji answered, and then realized that he never goes anywhere anyways. "_I really need to get a life…"_ He thought to himself.

"Why aren't you in class?" Byakuya suddenly said.

"W-what?" Renji was caught off guard. "Oh it's a…a break."

"No it isn't."

"H-how would you know that?"

"It isn't is it?"

"Well…that's—."

"Hey Abarai is that you! What are you doing skipping class?" A teacher opened the window and shouted.

"Oh shit! Uh Byakuya-dono I…"

"I understand. Bye." Byakuya hung up. Renji stuffed his phone back in his pocket and ran for his life.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Since Ichigo's next class was different from Rukia's, they parted ways after dance class.

"Oh right…" Rukia stopped Ichigo, "If you see Renji, tell him I want to talk to him."

"Renji? Why do you wanna talk to him?" Ichigo made a face.

"Don't be jealous~." Rukia smirked.

"I-I'm not!" Ichigo blushed. "I…just wanted to know—."

"Oh look class is going to start! Bye!" And with that she dashed away.

"Hey! At least let me finish speaking damn it!" Ichigo yelled after her, but it was too late. He sighed, turned around and began walking to his next class. As he was walking, his hands in his pockets, minding his own business, a group of girls immediately started whispering and giggling when they spotted him. Ichigo didn't really notice and continued on. That is until some guys walked past him shaking their heads, and giving him the stink eye. Ichigo was scratching his head in confusion. What the hell was going on?

"I bet you've been wondering why people are looking at you differently huh?" Ichigo turned around to see Hikari and Miyuki. (Refer to chapter 18 if you don't remember them.)

"Uh…yeah I guess?"

"Well that's because of these!" Hikari announced and shoved a bunch of pictures in his face.

"…What are these…?" Ichigo asked as he gave the photos a closer look. Immediately his eyes went wide and his face flushed. "W-why do you have these? H-how did you—?"

"We have our sources." Hikari folded her arms, satisfied with Ichigo's response.

"This…these pictures are from when Rukia was wearing that bunny eared sweater isn't it?" Ichigo exclaimed.

"Huh? How'd you know about that?"

"Damn I didn't even think about where the pictures ended up…" Ichigo mumbled to himself, ignoring Hikari and Miyuki's surprise.

"A-anyways!" Hikari managed to regain her composure. "Now you're going to be harassed by girls all over school because I sent these pictures to every single one of them!"

"…Why would you do that? Ichigo blinked. "I mean did I do something to you? Who are you even?"

"H-how could you not know who we are?" Hikari and Miyuki shouted in unison. "We've been in the same classes for three years!"

"Hmm…" Ichigo still looked unsure.

"She's the one who has a crush on your friend!" Miyuki pointed to Hikari.

"Friend? Umm…which friend? Tatsuki?"

"No!"

"Uh…Ishida? Well I guess he's my friend. He's kind of annoying but—."

"No! Abarai-kun!" Hikari practically shouted, in an exasperated tone. "Look, it doesn't even matter…the point is that we have these pictures."

"…So?"

"W-what do you mean "so?" Hikari sputtered.

"…I mean you already sent them to everyone is school right? So what else is there?" Ichigo shrugged.

"W-well that's…"

"It looks like this is over…." Ichigo sighed and left.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ah there you are…" Rukia smirked. School had just ended and Rukia found Ichigo laying on a patch of grass, leaning against a tree overlooking the school soccer field.

"Hmm? Oh Rukia…" He replied drowsily.

"Still tired huh?" She sat down next to him. He leaned his head on hers. "Just sleep for a while. I'll wake you later."

"Rukia…"

"Hm?"

"I'm hungry." He whispered as he began to nuzzle her neck.

"I-Ichigo!" Rukia blushed and pushed his head away. "I thought you were tired."

"It was a trap!" He declared and wrapped his arms around her waist. They ended up lying on the ground, face to face. Ichigo still had his arms around Rukia's petite body.

"You cheapskate…" Rukia grumbled, but she was obviously not unhappy. Ichigo just chuckled.

"Hey Rukia…if—."

"Rukia! Ichigo!" Renji's shouts interrupted Ichigo's words. They both sighed and stood up.

"We're over here Renji!" Rukia shouted back, while Ichigo dusted the grass and leaves from his clothes.

"Ah there you guys are…" Renji paused to take a breath. "Byakuya-dono said he wants us to come home now. Apparently the council made some big decision or something…"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

As soon as they entered the council meeting room, they were bombarded with people who started shaking Ichigo and Rukia's hands and congratulating them. About a minute and a half later, the room was quiet and all the hand shakers had cleared out. The only people remaining were Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, Byakuya and Yoruichi.

"…What was that all about?" Ichigo asked.

"Congrats you two." Yoruichi grinned. "The council finally gave in."

"Gave in to what?"

"Rukia is Kurosaki's official dhamphir partner." Byakuya stated, not too happily.

"F-For real?"

"And you don't need a supplier." Yoruichi added. "Because pure bloods are officially allowed to drink blood from their dhamphir partners, if their dhamphir partner allows it."

"W-whoa whoa whoa…why this sudden change?" Ichigo asked, clearly suspicious of all this.

"Well…in light of recent reoccurring events, the council figured that it would be better if there were more options for pure bloods to obtain blood. Also dhamphir blood hasn't been shown to have as much of an addictive factor as human blood."

"Wait...but I thought there was that saying that the blood from a virgin dhamphir is the most desirable?" Ichigo asked, while eyeing Byakuya, since he was the one who had told Ichigo that.

"That's all really a matter of personal taste." Yoruichi explained. "It's never really been proven." Ichigo gave Byakuya a pissed off look, which Byakuya chose to ignore.

"Ok so then pure bloods can have blood from both their suppliers and their dhamphir partners?" Rukia said.

"That's the idea."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"That was…easy?" Ichigo shrugged, and then noticed Rukia studying a piece of paper with a disappointed look. "What's wrong?"

"Its good everything worked out, but I had this great speech planned out for your partner union meeting."

"A major rule that's been around for ages has been changed and you're bummed 'cause you can't give some stupid speech?" Ichigo rolled his eyes. "Hey, but I thought drinking blood from a dhamphir was treated like some lewd sex act and now it's just ok because the council said so?"

"No, it's still a lewd sex act, but now it's a _legal_ lewd sex act." Rukia shot him a thumbs up.

"It's really amazing how you can say that with a straight face…" Ichigo shook his head. "Anyways…" Ichigo noticed someone standing at the front door of his house. "Hey…isn't that…Mochizuki-sensei?"

"What's sensei's doing here?" Rukia asked. "Unless…"

"Unless what?"

"Mrs. Mochizuki decided to drop in and see how all the students were doing at their homes?"

"…Why would she do that?" Ichigo shrugged it off. "And without notice?"

"Think about it…" Rukia began. "After a pleasant dinner of asparagus and ham, Mrs. Mochizuki retires to her place on the sofa, to get in some knitting while watching her favorite movie, _The Texas Chainsaw Massacre_."

"Who the hell knits while watching that kind of movie?"

"She tried her best to let it go, but a nagging thought kept lingering in her mind. That thought was…What am I doing with my life? Whatever happened to those dreams I had of being a professional pet detective?"

"What the hell kind of job is that?" Ichigo yelled. "Seriously where are you going with this?"

"That feeling of accomplishment I could have had when I united long lost Spot with little Billy…"

"Forget it…" Ichigo sighed, and shook his head.

"But wait! Maybe I can't see that bright shining smile on Billy's face, but I still have my students! My beautiful students! That's right…I should check on them and make sure they're living their lives to the fullest, unlike poor foolish Spot…oh why did he have to become a drug addict?"

"Drugs? I thought Spot was the dog!"

"And that's the story of why Mochizuki-sensei is at your doorstep." Rukia finished, satisfied with her explanation.

"I'm not gonna' even bother…" Ichigo groaned. "Let's just go ask her." As they approached Mrs. Mochizuki she immediately noticed them and waved.

"Oh my Kurosaki-kun! Kuchiki-kun too?"

"Yeah…she uh came to hang out." Ichigo lied, not wanting the crazy teacher to find out Rukia's living with him.

"Hm it's a bit late for a young girl to be coming over to a boy's house don't you think?" Mrs. Mochizuki asked, with a stint of disapproval in her voice.

"It was just going to be for a short while." Rukia fake smiled. "Anyways shall we head inside first?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So, why exactly are you here so late sensei?" Rukia asked, after the three of them had sat down in Ichigo's living room. Isshin was working a late shift at the hospital, and Karin and Yuzu were sleeping over at a friend's house.

"Oh well the thing is, after dinner this evening, I had a lingering thought…"

"_It can't be…"_ Ichigo thought.

"That I don't check on you kids enough." Mrs. Mochizuki finished.

"Oh…" Ichigo breathed out.

"So does that mean you're going to visit Renji's house too?" Rukia asked.

"Of course! In fact I'm going there next!" Mrs. Mochizuki thrust a fist into the air, clearly determined for some reason.

"Oh I see…would you excuse us for a minute?" Rukia asked politely, and proceeded to grab Ichigo and rush into the kitchen.

"What's wro—."

"I'm going with Mochizuki-sensei." Rukia said. "I can't have her thinking that I don't live there anymore."

"Yeah I guess…" Ichigo sighed. "But what about blood…?"

"Just drink the AB-. I won't be here, and nobody else will be here, so it should be fine."

"Really? I mean that's kind of risky. What if I go crazy and rush to your place and you know get all—."

"Lock yourself in your room then." Rukia replied. "You have to get some proper sleep since O-keeps giving you insomnia."

"Fine…but don't blame me if I show up—."

"I get it." Rukia folded her arms, trying not to blush as she remembered the effects of the love spell.

"Kuchiki-kun, are you ready to go?" Mrs. Mochizuki called from the living room.

"I'm coming!" Rukia called back, and then turned to Ichigo. "See you tomorrow then."

"Yeah…" Ichigo nodded. Rukia stared at him, and he stared back. "W-what?" Ichigo found himself blushing from Rukia's intense stare.

"Nothing…" Rukia grinned. "Just getting in as much of you as I can."

"W-what the hell?" Ichigo let a smile slip.

"I don't know." Rukia chuckled. "It kind of sounds like something you'd say." Ichigo sighed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Stupid. I'm not that cheesy."

* * *

**A/N**

I can't tell what's cheesy or not anymore because lately my mind is like a big cheese ball. Oh and a fun fact: Mrs. Mochizuki really does enjoy eating asparagus and ham for dinner. Whether that actually tastes good is a mystery to me.


	29. A return to the vampire house

Thanks for the reviews and yay for 100+ faves! My updates are actually somewhat on time these days! But it seems chapters are doomed to be shorter than they used to be.

**Chapter 29 A return to the vampire house  
**

"Kuchiki-kun, are you ready to go?" Mrs. Mochizuki called from the living room.

"I'm coming!" Rukia called back, and then turned to Ichigo. "See you tomorrow then."

"Yeah…" Ichigo nodded. Rukia stared at him, and he stared back. "W-what?" Ichigo found himself blushing from Rukia's intense stare.

"Nothing…" Rukia grinned. "Just getting in as much of you as I can."

"W-what the hell?" Ichigo let a smile slip.

"I don't know." Rukia chuckled. "It kind of sounds like something you'd say." Ichigo sighed and wrapped his arms around her.

"Stupid. I'm not that cheesy."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Renji paced back and forth in front of Byakuya's door. Rukia had just called him to give him the heads up on Mrs. Mochizuki coming over. Renji couldn't decide how he should inform Byakuya of this, thus his current state. While contemplating this he didn't hear the door slide open and out came Byakuya wondering why the towering red head was there looking quite uncomfortable.

"Renji, what is it?"

"Byakuya-dono…Mochizuki-sensei is—."

"Abarai-kun!" Mrs. Mochizuki barged into the hallway before Renji could even get the words out. Byakuya almost lost his composure, but of course he didn't.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm here for the student check in of course!" The curly haired woman exclaimed.

"At this hour?"

"Exactly! I have to make sure all my students are safe and sound during the late hours of the night.

"Renji's fine, go home." Byakuya stated.

"Really? Is he? Why should I trust you?" Mrs. Mochizuki sneered.

"He's right there, you can see for yourself."

"Uh hi sensei."

"Hello Abarai-kun. How are you doing on this fine evening?" Mrs. Mochizuki asked in a sweet voice.

"Fine…I guess." Renji scratched his head uncomfortably.

"That's good to hear. If Byakuya-san gives you any trouble you can—."

"You can go now." Byakuya interrupted.

"Fine fine! Let me just—."

"I will call the police."

"Why?" Mrs. Mochizuki screeched. "I didn't even do anything yet!"

"Because you used the word "yet."

"Ughh you are so irritating!" Mrs. Mochizuki whined.

"Uh sensei, didn't Rukia come with you?" Renji asked.

"Oh yeah she's parking the car."

"Really? You let Rukia park your car?" Renji raised a brow.

"Why is she a bad driver?"

"No it's just kind of…" Renji began.

"Kind of what?"

"Irresponsible."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"W-what happened?" Mrs. Mochizuki woke up to see Renji, Byakuya, and Rukia.

"You fainted after being called irresponsible by the student you were trying to sexually harass." Byakuya explained.

"Oh ok…" Mrs. Mochizuki nodded blissfully, collapsed back onto the couch she was laying on, and then shot up again. "What?"

"So anyways…" Renji tried desperately to change the subject. "It's getting pretty late…don't you think you should head home sensei?" The teacher glanced at her watch and nodded in agreement.

"Oh I guess so…" She sighed. "Well see you at school Abarai-kun! Kuchiki-kun!" She waved goodbye, then she was finally gone.

"…God that was uncomfortable." Renji groaned.

"What does she even teach?" Rukia asked.

"Hell if I know." Renji shrugged.

"Well..." Rukia cleared her throat rather dramatically. "I guess I'll go to bed. Good night Nii-sama, Renji." Rukia winked and nudged Renji, as she exited the sitting room that they were currently in. Renji just rolled his eyes.

"I believe I should file a complaint to the school." Byakuya suddenly stated.

"What? You mean about Mrs. Mochizuki? Nah its fine you don't have to."

"Why not? Do you like all the inappropriate attention that she's giving you?" Byakuya took a step closer to Renji.

"Um what?" Renji blinked, feeling some tension in the air. "No not really. She's too noisy and kind of creepy and old." Byakuya froze at that last word. _Old._ Suddenly realization hit Renji. "N-not that I don't like people older than me! In fact that's totally my type! I totally into older guy—girl—p-people! O-old people rock!" Renji gave an extremely awkward peace sign. Byakuya just stared. Renji's face reddened deeper.

"What are you trying to say?" Byakuya asked with a straight face.

"…I-I'm saying that…that I don't like Mrs. Mochizuki, but it's not because she's old! And that I may or may not have a thing for someone who is older than me." Renji blurted out, and then realized that saying the last part wasn't necessary.

"So it really isn't Rukia then?"

Renji blinked. "Rukia?"

"Yes from the restaurant. I asked if you liked Rukia and you said no. I didn't know whether to believe it or not."

"What…you…you asked if I…if I like Rukia that time?" Renji gasped.

"The way you follow her around all the time and get angry with Kurosaki I could only assume."

"That's…you thought I liked Rukia?"

"You don't do you?" Byakuya had his protective older brother aura on.

"No way!" Renji couldn't help but chuckle.

"Why do you seem so happy about this?" Byakuya looked mildly quizzical.

"It's nothing." Renji grinned.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Rukia was about to jump into bed when her cell phone rang. She checked the caller ID to see that it was Ichigo. "Ichigo? What happened?"

"Uh nothing it's just Inoue showed up and said that you guys were working on a project together." Ichigo replied.

"Oh right! I forgot about that…put her on." There was a slight pause.

"H-hello Kuchiki-san?"

"Ah Inoue sorry I forgot about the project. Let's see…tomorrow's Saturday. Could we meet then?" Rukia asked.

"Well tomorrow I'm going to the amusement park with Tatsuki." Orihime answered.

"Ok how about you come here now? To my house." Rukia suggested.

"E-eh? Would that be ok?"

"Sure." Rukia said. "It's pretty late for you to be walking alone though, take Ichigo with you."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

There was a knock on Rukia's bedroom door. She opened it, figuring it was Orihime and Ichigo, but it ended up being Byakuya.

"N-nii-sama?" Rukia was surprised to say the least.

"May I come in?" The pure blooded noble asked, unfazed.

"O-of course." Rukia moved aside to let Byakuya in. They both took a seat on Rukia's white sofa chairs. Rukia glanced at Byakuya from the corners of her eyes multiple times, waiting for him to explain the reason why he was there.

"Is…is there something wrong Nii-sama?" Rukia attempted to initiate a conversation.

"No…" Byakuya answered. "I wanted to talk about…" He averted his eyes for a moment, trying to maintain his composure. "It's about Kurosaki."

"_This can't be good."_ Rukia though, feeling her stomach turn. "About Ichigo?"

"Since the law has changed…have you…" Byakuya paused. "Have you and Kurosaki…has Kurosaki…" Rukia could tell this was extremely difficult for Byakuya to talk about and that made her feel even more uncomfortable.

"Nii-sama…Ichigo hasn't drunk my blood since the law has changed, if that's what you were asking."

"I see…" Byakuya still didn't look content.

"Was there something else you wanted to know?" Rukia asked.

"Rukia…your relationship with Ichigo…it is of a romantic nature?" A blush immediately reached Rukia's cheeks. "I'll take that as a yes."

"N-Nii-sama…we—."

"I'm not against it." Byakuya stated. Rukia merely blinked at him. "I just need to know…if you and Kurosaki have…" Rukia patiently waited for him to continue. "If you and Kurosaki have engaged in intercour—."

A loud knocking on the door interrupted Byakuya.

"Ah excuse me Nii-sama." Rukia went to go open the door. Byakuya let out a tiny sigh. It was Renji at the door.

"Renji, what is it?" Rukia asked.

"Ichigo and Inoue are here. They said that you invited them. Should I tell 'em to leave?" Renji asked.

"Why? Just let them in." Rukia sighed. "Inoue and I have a project to work on."

"Fine…" Renji groaned. "Oh? Byakuya-dono?" Byakuya was now walking towards them.

"Nii-sama where are you going? I thought you were in the middle of saying something." Rukia asked.

"Its fine, we can talk later. You have homework to do don't you?" Byakuya answered.

"Ok. Thanks Nii-sama." Rukia gave him a small polite smile, and then headed to the front entrance to let Ichigo and Inoue in. Renji noticed Byakuya looking quite weary.

"Byakuya-dono…are you ok?"

"Renji, I'm never having children."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Sorry to call you here so late Inoue." Rukia said to the auburn haired girl as the two of them sat down at the table in Rukia's room.

"It's ok Kuchiki-san. We have to finish this project. Ah besides I finally get to see your house! Your room's so pretty!" Orihime gushed.

"T-thanks…" Rukia blushed, and then remembered Ichigo. "Hey Ichigo you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine…" Ichigo was lounging on Rukia's bed reading _Macbeth_.

"Hmm…" She stared at him, and then turned to Orihime. "Just a second Inoue. Ichigo, come with me."

"What? Why?" Ichigo groaned as Rukia pulled him out of the room.

"Aren't you hungry? It doesn't seem like you had the AB-." She asked after they were in the hallway, safely out of Orihime's hearing range.

"It's good I didn't take it, but I am a little hungry. It's not like I can't wait though."

"Ok…but if you feel even the least bit hungry just drink this blood juice box." Rukia handed it to him. "Oh and maybe you should stay in Renji's room just in case. We don't want Inoue to get hurt or anything."

"Yeah you're right. And besides if I get really hungry I can just drink Renji's blood." Ichigo joked. Rukia froze, and her eyes went wide. "Stop it you pervert!" Ichigo sighed. "It was a joke."

"Of course it was~" Rukia snickered.

"Ugh you got problems!" Ichigo grunted and folded his arms.

"Heh…" Rukia smirked and leaned in. "Well then I guess you won't be drinking any blood from me who has too many issues~"

"W-what?" Ichigo sputtered, while blushing.

"W-why do you always get so flustered?" Rukia's face went pink as well. "You're making me embarrassed for saying anything…"

"Y-you mean I can…?" Ichigo looked around to make sure no one was there.

"W-well the law changed right?" Rukia averted her eyes.

"S-so we can…" Ichigo tenderly caressed Rukia's neck and leaned in.

"What are you guys doing in the hallway?" Renji asked.

"Seriously?" Ichigo grumbled. "What are you the king of bad timing?"

"Lay off man. You were the ones doing it in the hallway." Renji replied.

"We weren't doing anything." Rukia sighed.

"Yeah we weren't doing anything! We never get to do anything!" Ichigo complained.

"Wow touchy…someone needs to get laid." Renji commented.

"Shut up! And you of all people shouldn't talk!" Ichigo pointed a finger at the red head.

"Hey! That was cheap! You know the conditions I'm working with!" Renji acted as if Ichigo had just kicked his puppy.

"Well I see you guys can handle yourselves. Besides I shouldn't keep Inoue waiting so long." Rukia pointed out.

"But wait…"Ichigo frowned. "What about…y-you know…"

"I don't understand." Rukia raised an eyebrow curiously.

"He's talking about having sex with you! Sex!" Renji exclaimed rather loudly.

"S-shut up! N-not so loud!" Ichigo blushed and smacked Renji on the back of the head. "And that's not what I was talking about…" He turned to Rukia.

"I-I get it…" Rukia said. "Just wait until we're done with the project. If you can't wait, take the blood substitute, ok?"

"Yeah, ok." Ichigo nodded.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hey Inoue, sorry to keep you waiting." Rukia said the moment she entered her room.

"It's ok." Orihime smiled. They spent the next hour or so working and finally finished the project. After Orihime had left by taxi, Rukia went to Renji's room, assuming Ichigo was there.

"Oh you're done?" Ichigo asked as soon as Rukia entered.

"Yup just finished!" Rukia shot a thumbs up. Ichigo just rolled his eyes. "So where's Renji?"

"I don't know…he went to the bathroom like half an hour ago."

"And? He never came out? What if something happened to him?" Rukia questioned.

"I doubt it. He probably fell asleep while he was taking a dump."Ichigo shrugged and went back to reading. Rukia shook her head in disgust.

"How could you say that you fool? Your precious friend could be having some toilet related emergency and you're just lounging around like everything's just peachy!"

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this?"

"Because…" Rukia's face darkened. "Bad stuff has happened to Renji in the bathroom before."

"…What?" Ichigo chuckled "You're kidding right?"

Rukia nodded. "Unfortunately no." She sighed and sat down on Renji's bed beside Ichigo. "Remember Johnny?" (Refer to chapter 6)

"Uhh sure…"

"Well he's involved in this story."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"_This is not good." _Byakuya kept thinking to himself as he stared at the issue of_ Seventeen_ magazine in front of him. He opened it up and flipped to the same page he had already read over five times. He skimmed over the article once again. _5 Tips for a better makeout session!_ He massaged his temples and took a deep breath."_This cannot happen."_

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Oi…oi Rukia!" Ichigo sighed.

"Hm? What?" Rukia took her eyes off the Chappy book she was reading to look at the carrot top.

"What the hell? I thought you were gonna' tell me some big story about Renji and the bathroom and whoever the hell Johnny is."

"Oh that…" Rukia nodded. "Actually I made that all up."

"I knew it." Ichigo said, annoyed, and peered over Rukia's shoulder to see what she was reading. "Isn't that book for kids?"

"N-no!" Rukia held the book defensively to her chest.

"Yeah it is! It even has pictures." Ichigo laughed.

"That doesn't prove anything!" Rukia pointed a finger at Ichigo.

"Oh really?" Ichigo smirked and took Rukia's pointed finger in his hand. "Then let me see it."

"Only if you let go of my finger." Rukia had a smug expression.

"Why're you acting so high and mighty?" Ichigo asked and leaned in. "Don't you realize that I have the upper hand here?"

"You only have the upper hand if I let you have it." Rukia leaned even closer. Suddenly Ichigo's stomach grumbled. "I see you didn't take the blood substitute."

"I-I was waiting for something that tastes better." Ichigo awkwardly ran a hand through his hair.

"D-does dhampir blood really taste that much better?"

"Well it's been so long…" Ichigo eyed Rukia's neck, hungrily.

"Stop staring at me like I'm a piece of meat." Rukia blushed and covered her neck.

"S-sorry…" Ichigo wiped some drool from his chin.

"I guess you can't help it…so uh go for it…" Rukia said and unbuttoned the top two buttons of her shirt.

"R-really?" Ichigo asked excitedly.

"J-just hurry up." Rukia looked away too embarrassed to stare him in the face.

"O-okay…" Ichigo gently tilted her neck to the side and edged closer. His lips brushed her neck, and then he thrust his fangs through her skin, sucking out the sweet nectar that is blood. Rukia's mind went blank from the pure bliss and feelings of ecstasy running through her body. After Ichigo had finished drinking he licked and sucked on Rukia's skin to remove the spilt blood. Rukia felt shivers down her spine, despite the heat she was feeling throughout the rest of her body. "Thanks…for the meal." Ichigo grinned, clearly energetic from the blood intake.

"You really drank a lot this time…" Rukia collapsed backwards, her head hitting the pillows.

"S-sorry…" Ichigo ruffled his hair and looked away, guiltily.

"I gave you what you wanted, so now you have to give me something I want."

"Uh sure…what do you want?" Ichigo asked obliviously. Rukia immediately sat up on the bed, fingered the collar of Ichigo's shirt, and then began unbuttoning his shirt. "R-Rukia…w-what're you…?"

"You said you'd give me something I want, didn't you?" Rukia smirked.

"Y-yeah but you…you really want to?" Ichigo blushed. "I-I mean aren't you tired from the blood loss. And what if Renji comes back…?"

"I'm not tired." Rukia answered as she tugged on the loose ends of Ichigo's shirt. "But if you don't want to…" Ichigo immediately pecked Rukia on the cheek.

"No I want to…" Ichigo immediately pulled off his shirt and tossed it behind him. Rukia pulled Ichigo on top of her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Ichigo's lips collided with Rukia's, and soon enough mouths were being explored by tongues. "Rukia…" Ichigo said after they had separated for but a moment. His voice was breathless. "I love you."

"Ichigo…I love you too." Rukia smiled and kissed him again. Ichigo trailed his lips down to her neck and softly kissed the area he had previously bitten, before moving lower, his tongue encircling Rukia's porcelain skin. "Mnnn…" Rukia let out a delighted moan, as Ichigo slid his hand across her bare thigh. Soon enough Rukia's school uniform joined Ichigo's on the floor.

* * *

**A/N**

I'm sorry I had to end it here and so abruptly at that. But this story is rated T after all~ I think my nonexistent skill of writing sexy scenes has become rusty. But I know I haven't put many "sexy" scenes in lately so yeah…


	30. A brunch

Thanks for the reviews! Umm enjoy.

**Chapter 30 A brunch**

Rukia turned over in her sleep, wrapping her arms around the warm body lying next to her. Then her eyes opened slowly. She heard some birds chirping outside and realized it was morning. "_Where am I...?" _ She thought to herself, until she noticed she was holding onto Ichigo, and both of them had no clothes on. "I-ichigo! W-we…" Rukia blushed.

"Hmmnn?" Ichigo stirred, only semi-conscious.

"Ichigo! Wake up!" Rukia nudged the carrot top.

"…Mnn why?" Ichigo groaned, and turned over. "It's still early…"

"B-because, we're still in Renji's room!"

"…In Renji's—oh shit!" Ichigo shot up. He was about to say something when they heard a knock on the door. "W-who's that?" He whispered to Rukia.

"How should I know?" Rukia whispered back. "J-just pretend to be Renji! Ask who it is!"

"R-right!" Ichigo nodded. "Uh...who is it?"

"It's Byakuya." Ichigo and Rukia both slapped their palms to their foreheads. Out of all the people it _had_ to be Byakuya: the worst person to see them in a situation like this.

"O-oh…j-just a second!" Ichigo tried his best to imitate Renji's voice. He then turned to Rukia. "What should we do?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Byakuya thought Renji's voice sounded different, but he didn't bother to think too much about it. He heard a lot of shuffling and whispers. He wondered if someone else was in the room with Renji.

"B-Byakuya-dono?" The noble turned to see Renji walking towards him. "Morning." Renji greeted. "Did something happen?"

"If you're here." Byakuya glanced at the door. "Who's in your room?"

"Huh?" Renji blinked. "There's someone in my room?" He walked past Byakuya and opened the door slightly to see Ichigo and Rukia rushing about in a flurry, half naked. He immediately slammed the door shut. "Uh…o-oh that!" Renji spun around to face Byakuya while blocking the door. "I-It was just Ichigo! Yeah he slept over last night."

"But it sounds like there's more than one person in there." Byakuya pointed out.

"W-well you know Ichigo…that wack job. Probably talking to himself or something!" Renji tried to laugh it off.

"I see…" Byakuya didn't look convinced.

"S-so what brings you here this morning anyway?" Renji attempted to change the subject.

"I wanted to talk to you about something."

"M-me?" Renji scratched his head. "About what?"

"I thought we could talk in private."

"I-In private?" Renji asked, before his stomach emitted a loud gurgle. Byakuya just stared at him. "Ahaha…actually I haven't eaten breakfast yet…"

"Let's go to the diner nearby. We can talk there." Byakuya decided.

"R-really?" Renji tried his best not to squeal like a fangirl. "Ok…uh I guess I should change first." He was wearing baggy black shorts and a white tank with grass stains and he had a few leaves scattered throughout his red ponytail. Byakuya decided not to comment.

"Fine. Meet me in half an hour at the front of the house." Byakuya instructed.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Renji was so distracted by the fact that Byakuya had asked him to breakfast, that he momentarily forgot about the situation inside his room. As soon as he stepped inside his room, he was reminded by the two individuals, now fully clothed, who were sitting on his bed wearing guilty expressions.

"You guys…!" Renji glared and pointed an accusing finger at them.

"Renji…l-let me explain." Rukia said.

"Explain? What's there to explain? You had sex in _my _room! In _my _bed!"

"Well…yeah pretty much." Ichigo rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Dude! When I meant you needed to get laid, I didn't mean in my bed!" Renji cried.

"I-I know…I'm sorry man." Ichigo sighed. "It just sort of…happened."

"It just sort of happened, my ass!" Renji yelled. "I leave for a few hours and you do something like this!"

"By the way, where'd you go last night?" Ichigo asked. "You said you were going to the bathroom, and then you never showed up again."

"Don't try to change the subject!"

"I figured you fell asleep while you were taking a dump." Ichigo shrugged.

"Why the hell would I do that?" Renji groaned.

"Ah…then you were masturb—."

"No!" Renji was about to blow a gasket. He let out a sharp sigh and averted his eyes. "I…I was taking a walk."

"In the night?" Ichigo asked.

"Hmm…"Rukia grinned. "Doesn't Nii-sama like taking evening strolls?"

"H-how should I know?" Renji's blush made it obvious.

"You're such a stalker." Ichigo said.

"S-shut up! You guys are in no position to be giving me a hard time, when you just did the unspeakable in my bed!"

"Just wash the sheets." Ichigo replied.

"Wash? I'll have to burn them!"

"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Rukia asked. "Why don't we just go buy you new sheets Renji?

"I can't believe this is happening again…" Renji shook his head.

"Again?" Ichigo blinked. "You mean this has happened before?"

"Twice." Renji admitted, with a solemn expression.

"What? Who was it?" Rukia asked, curiously.

"You don't want to know." Renji had a dark haunted look on his face, as if he had witnessed an unholy sight.

"So anyways, what happened with Byakuya?" Ichigo asked. "Did he find out about...you know?"

"No, I told him that it was Ichigo talking to himself." Renji answered.

"Oh great…" Ichigo sighed. "He already hates me, and now he thinks I'm crazy too."

"He either thinks you're crazy or he kills you for sleeping with his little sister. Which do you think sounds worse huh?" Renji sneered. Ichigo didn't answer and just looked away, embarrassed.

"So how about buying those sheets?" Rukia asked with a cheerful disposition.

"You guys go buy them. I have to go meet Byakuya-dono for breakfast." Renji replied.

"Ooohh." Rukia smiled, sneakily. "Ah but wait…Nii-sama doesn't eat." Renji froze in the middle of grabbing a towel out of the drawer.

"You seriously forgot that?" Ichigo asked.

"N-no!" Renji shouted, and then walked to the door. "I'll be right back. You two better have left to buy me new sheets before I get back." He said, and then left.

Ichigo turned to Rukia. "So should we buy the sheets now, or—."

"Forget about the sheets!" Rukia said. "C'mon!"

"What? Where're we going?" Ichigo asked as Rukia yanked his wrist out of the room.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Rukia and Ichigo decided to go out for breakfast before buying Renji's sheets. To be more specific, Rukia decided that she and Ichigo were going to eat breakfast at the diner Renji and Byakuya were going to eat at.

"Why are we even here?" Ichigo sighed. "How'd you even know they're coming here?"

"Shh!" Rukia reprimanded. "Stop asking so many questions!"

"I'll stop when you stop being a creepy stalker pervert!" Ichigo retorted.

"Well sucks for you, boyfriend of the creepy stalker pervert." Rukia smirked at him, and then went back to scanning the area for her brother and best friend. Ichigo folded his arms and pouted. "If you're trying to be scary, it's not working. You just look adorable." Rukia smiled and patted his cheek.

Ichigo blushed. "Fine…we can stay for a while."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Byakuya-dono…why're we going to the diner?" Renji asked, as he and the noble walked down the street to the nearby eatery.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"Yeah…but you don't eat so—."

"Renji, there's a difference between don't and can't." Byakuya stated.

"Yeah but…"

"Beside I have something important to talk to about."

"R-right…" Renji wondered what this important thing was. He swore he could even see something that looked like determination in Byakuya eyes. When they got to the diner they took their seats and started looking through the menu. Renji fished out his wallet and started counting how much money he had to spend on his food because he was really classy like that.

"I'll pay." Byakuya said.

"W-what?" Renji blinked. "No its—."

"I insist." Byakuya interrupted him. "In exchange for calling you here to talk I will treat you."

"Byakuya-dono, I can't let you—."

"I'm not asking permission." Byakuya was serious. "I'm paying and that's final." Renji twitched, uncomfortable with someone paying for him. He didn't like to depend on other people with money despite the fact that he was almost always strapped for cash. Oh well a free meal was a free meal.

"So uh…what did you want to talk about?" Renji asked.

"It's about this."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ah look there they are!" Rukia pulled on Ichigo's sleeve. She was hiding behind a potted plant that was beside their table.

"Uh yeah, she'll have the spinach artichoke omelet with the strawberry-citrus smoothie." Ichigo finished ordering for the both of them. After the waiter left, Rukia turned to Ichigo.

"Did you just order for me?"

"Yeah. I ordered iron and calcium rich foods for your blood."

"Ooh that's good! You know dhampirs can absorb vitamins much quicker than humans." Rukia said. "So this will be good for me if you're going to be drinking blood more often. Oh and speaking of, do you still have an appetite for human food?"

"Hm not really." Ichigo ran a hand through his hair. "Well except for churros…I kind of feel like eating churros…"

"Churros?" Rukia blinked.

"Yeah…and also cake, cookies, pie…pretty much anything with sugar in it."

"Interesting." Rukia put a finger to her chin. "Well pure bloods have been known to have strange cravings during their transformations. Sort of like pregnant women."

Ichigo made a face. "Great. So I'm a pregnant woman." He said just as two women in their forties passed by. They both gave him weird looks. Ichigo sighed and laid his head on the table, until he saw a grease stain a few inches from his face and promptly sat up and wiped his head with a napkin.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Renji stared down at the magazine that had some tanned skinny teen star smiling and posing in front of a white background that matched the white of her teeth. The cover had big pink letters that said stuff like: "Hottest Male celebrities," and "7 cutest bikinis to wear this summer." Renji was…confused to say the least.

"Uh…Byakuya-dono…what exactly am I looking at?"

"It's a magazine." Byakuya answered simply. Renji couldn't help but give the noble a dry look.

"Ok let me try that again…why am I looking at this?"

"It's about this." Byakuya flipped the magazine to a page that said something about make out tips. Renji read over the page then looked up at Byakuya.

"…I'm still confused." Renji replied. "Y-you want kissing tips?"

"No." Byakuya said. "Girls are already doing these kind of…activities at the young age of seventeen."

"Okay…?" Renji wasn't quite following.

"So what I want to know is if Rukia has engaged in such activities with Kurosaki." Byakuya stated. Renji's eyes went wide.

"_Oh shit…" _Renji thought to himself. "Uh...Byakuya-dono, what would you do to them if they had done…something? Hypothetically speaking."

"I haven't thought about that yet. Perhaps it will be legal…perhaps it won't." Byakuya answered.

"G-great…" Renji laughed nervously and took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Renji, tell me if you know something."

"I…uh…B-Byakuya-dono…I can't. Rukia's my best friend…and Ichigo's also my friend."

"I won't say I didn't expect this. After all Rukia and Kurosaki are much more important to you than I am." Byakuya seemed offended.

"T-that's not really fair you know? I mean how can you expect me to choose between you or Rukia and Ichigo?" Renji said, clearly aggravated. Byakuya just stared at him. He seemed to have a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "W-what's wrong?"

"You have some whipped cream on your nose." Byakuya handed him a napkin. Renji reddened in embarrassment.

"H-how long was that there?" Renji stammered. "You just continued on without telling me?"

"It was quite amusing to watch." Byakuya replied.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Darn it…" Rukia sighed. "I can't hear what they're saying."

"Then just stop trying to eavesdrop, and eat your food." Ichigo sighed and broke of a piece of toast and stuffed it into Rukia's mouth.

"Thanks." Rukia said after swallowing. "Aw but look at them, Renji's blushing and Nii-sama looks…not mad. That's a good sign!"

"Wow its destiny." Ichigo deadpanned.

"Your support moves me to tears!" Rukia clasped her hands together in a dramatic pose.

"S-stop being such a weirdo. People are staring." Ichigo rolled his eyes and pulled Rukia onto the bench beside him.

"So I guess we should finish up here and then go buy Renji's sheets." Rukia decided as she took a sip of her fruit smoothie.

"You mean you're done stalking?" Ichigo fake gasped. Rukia punched him in the shoulder.

"It's no point since we can't hear them from here. Besides I can always blackmail Renji into telling me what happened later." Rukia rubbed her hands together and snickered evilly.

"You're crazy." Ichigo sighed.

"You know you love it~." Rukia grinned and wrapped her arms around his waist. Ichigo put his arm around her and smirked.

"Yeah I guess I do."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So Byakuya-dono, are you—." Renji froze and his eyes went wide. Byakuya raised a brow. He turned around to see what it was that made Renji freeze. It was Mrs. Mochizuki entering the diner.

"We have to leave. Now." Byakuya declared. Renji readily agreed. Byakuya quickly slapped down the money for the bill and they were about to bolt, when Mrs. Mochizuki spotted them.

"Abarai-kun?" She called out, and then her eyes went wide. "Byakuya-san?"

"Oh shit! She saw us!" Renji panicked. "She's right in front of the exit! What do we do?"

"The bathroom." Byakuya answered, and the two of them speed walked to the men's room. Mrs. Mochizuki almost caught them as she ended up right outside the door.

"Safe!" Renji sighed in relief, as a man in a blue shirt exited the bathroom. Mrs. Mochizuki stopped the blue shirted man on his way out.

"Exscuse me sir!" She put a hand in front of him to stop him from leaving. "Did you happen to see a handsome man with long black hair and another man with bright red hair and tattoos go in?"

"Uh…" The man just stared. "I don't really remember…"

"Then could you please go in and check?" Mrs. Mochizuki pleaded.

"I kind of need to go—."

"I'll give you five bucks!"

"Sure!" The man happily agreed and grabbed the five bucks. The man went back inside and saw Renji and Byakuya standing there. He went back out. "Yeah I saw them. Two of them right?"

"Yes! And did you happen to see anybody else in there?"

"Hmm nope I don't think so." The man nodded.

"Great thanks!" Mrs. Mochizuki watched the man leave, then glanced around to see if anyone was around, then quickly rushed into the bathroom. Luckily Byakuya spotted her in the nick of time and grabbed Renji and ran into the stall. He quickly pulled him up so that they were standing on the toilet. Renji was about to ask what happened, before Byakuya put his hand over his mouth. Renji couldn't help but blush. This was the closest he's ever been to Byakuya. Despite the fact that this was really not the time to be thinking about those kind of things. Mrs. Mochizuki bent down to see if anyone was in the stalls. Renji and Byakuya held their breaths. She couldn't see any feet. She let out an annoyed groan. "That stupid man lied to me and took my five bucks!" She huffed. Then there was the sound of the door swinging open. "Kurosaki-kun?"

"Mochizuki-sensei?" Renji and Byakuya heard Ichigo's voice. "Uh…you know this is the men's bathroom right?"

"I know. I'm leaving." Mrs. Mochizuki sighed. "Do me a favor and don't tell anyone about this ok Kurosaki-kun?"

"Uhh sure…" Then there was the swing of the door again. Then the sound of the tap water flowing came. Renji breathed out lightly, and eyed Byakuya. Renji expected Byakuya to remove his hand from covering Renji's mouth, but he didn't. Renji grasped Byakuya's wrist and moved it himself. He was about to jump down from the toilet, but Byakuya put his arm in front of Renji to stop him. Renji mouthed the words "Why? It's just Ichigo." Byakuya pulled Renji in by his shirt collar so that his mouth could reach Renji's ear.

"Not yet." A clear low whisper seeped into Renji's ears making his knees go weak. He didn't even really process what Byakuya had said or meant and he really didn't care. His heart was thumping so loud that he wondered if Byakuya could hear it. And he couldn't help but stare at the noble since they were standing so close. Then Byakuya turned to look at him. "He's gone Renji."

"…huh?" Renji asked dreamily.

"Kurosaki's gone. We can leave now." Byakuya said.

"O-oh right…" Renji's heart dropped. They got off the toilet and stepped out of the stall. "U-uh…"

"Are you ill Renji?" Byakuya asked.

"W-what?"

"You seem feverish."

"N-no…I'm fine." Renji sighed and looked away. "W-why did we have to wait for Ichigo to leave?" There was a pause. "Byakuya-dono?"

"I just didn't want to see him." Byakuya said.

"Byakuya-dono…you know Ichigo and Rukia are dating right?" Renji sighed.

"So?"

"I mean it's not like they're gonna' break up anytime soon and they really care about each other, so maybe you could…I don't know give them a chance or something."

"Renji…you're right."

"I know Rukia is—wait what?"

"I have to learn to accept Kurosaki as he is an important part of Rukia's life." Byakuya said.

"Really?" Renji gasped. "I mean that was quick!"

"But if Kurosaki steps out of line even one inch, you will be paying the consequences."

"Why me?" Renji asked. "And how exactly am I supposed to pay for the consequences?" Byakuya stepped closer and smirked ever so slightly as he glanced at Renji from the neck down.

"I'm sure you'll find a way."

* * *

**A/N**

Is anyone getting sick of Mrs. Mochizuki yet? I know I am, but I can't seem to let her go…but don't worry. I think this chapter will be her last appearance…or at least she won't show up so often.


	31. A change of plans

Thanks for the reviews. Sorry the chapter was late.

**Chapter 31 A change of plans**

"I have to learn to accept Kurosaki as he is an important part of Rukia's life." Byakuya said.

"Really?" Renji gasped. "I mean that was quick!"

"But if Kurosaki steps out of line even one inch, you will be paying the consequences."

"Why me?" Renji asked. "And how exactly am I supposed to pay for the consequences?" Byakuya stepped closer and smirked ever so slightly as he glanced at Renji from the neck down.

"I'm sure you'll find a way."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So should we get the sheets with the spaceships or the dinosaurs?" Rukia asked.

"Why don't we just get the plain blue ones?" Ichigo suggested. "Besides Renji's not a seven year old."

"Aw but those are so boring!" Rukia dismissed the plain sheets. "Ok we'll get the one with pink poodles!"

"No! Just get the plain ones!" Ichigo shouted, causing people to stare.

"Pink poodles!"

"Plain!"

"Sharks!"

"Sharks…? Wait no!" Ichigo shook his head, trying not to be convinced.

"But look how cool they are!" Rukia showed him the shark print sheets.

"…A-actually those are kind of cool. Ok let's get those." Ichigo agreed. And that's how they ended up buying sheets with sharks on them for Renji. After they had made a few more stops: the Chappy store, and the drug store, they were on their way back to Ichigo's, when Rukia got a phone call from Byakuya.

"Hello? Nii-sama?" Rukia answered.

"Rukia…" There was a pause. "Would you and…Kurosaki…like to have dinner…with me tonight?"

"H-Have dinner? Yes! We would Nii-sama!" Rukia replied eagerly.

"I'll pick you up at seven."

"O-Ok! Bye Nii-sama." Rukia hung up and beamed at Ichigo.

"What happened?" Ichigo asked.

"Nii-sama wants to have dinner with us!"

"Ugh he wants to check on us again?"

"No! It means he's accepted you Ichigo!" Rukia explained.

"Really?" Ichigo gasped.

"Well he's trying to! Isn't this great?"

"Yeah!" Ichigo grabbed Rukia into a big hug. "We did it! But actually we didn't do anything!"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"How about this shirt?" Ichigo asked and picked a white dress shirt from the rack. They were now at a clothing store, looking for something nice to wear for tonight's meal with Byakuya.

Rukia nodded. "We have to look nice because Nii-sama's taking us to a fancy restaurant. That looks like you're a waiter not a customer."

"I don't get it…why are we going to a restaurant if Byakuya and I don't even eat."

"We're going to a special kind of restaurant that caters to vampires." Rukia explained.

"There's something like that?"

"Yes. But it's pretty expensive and you have to have important connections to get in."

"Oh…" Ichigo nodded. "So when are we going?"

"Nii-sama said he'd pick us up at seven." Rukia answered. "I wonder if Renji will come. It'll be like a double date!"

"Yeah right. That doesn't even make sense." Ichigo rolled his eyes. "It's not like they're dating. Plus I'd rather gouge out my eyeballs with a spoon and feed them to carnivorous ducks than go on a double date with Byakuya."

"Oh please! You're over-exaggerating!"Rukia waved him off. "Once Nii-sama realizes his passionate love for Renji, the first thing we'll do is go out together!"

"Y'know we haven't even been on a real date yet." Ichigo pointed out.

"Hm that's true." Rukia nodded. "Ok! We'll go out for lunch, and then take them out for dinner!"

"We don't have to wait for them to go out on a date…" Ichigo sighed.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"So, I heard you've done the impossible." Byakuya looked up from the paperwork on his desk to see Yoruichi leaning on the door frame of his office.

"I don't know what you mean." Byakuya replied and returned his gaze back to his work.

"Aw no need to be shy, I heard all about it from Renji." Yoruichi grinned. "How you invited Ichigo and Rukia to dinner, and how you're trying to accept them as a couple."

Byakuya made a mental note to punish Renji severely later on. "Did you come here for a reason?" Byakuya asked, wanting this little conversation to be over and done with.

"Well I just _had_ to come and tease you about this! I mean the stubborn as a mule, cold as ice, Byakuya Kuchiki, actually accepting the guy that his precious sister is dating."

"I'm quite busy, so if you're done…"

"I also came to give you this." Yoruichi grinned and placed an ivory envelope on Byakuya's cherry wood desk.

"What is it?"

"Open it and find out." Yoruichi waved and left. Byakuya massaged his temples then picked up the envelope and slit it open with the scissors on his desk. He opened up the card that was inside. It was a wedding invitation. And apparently it was for Yoruichi and Urahara. Byakuya didn't know what to think of this as he rarely got involved with other people's social lives. He had no idea those two were even seeing each other. He wasn't too concerned about it, knowing he would go anyway to keep up appearances. He slid the card back into the envelope and placed it in the left desk drawer. He glanced up at the clock. There were still a few hours until dinner, which gave him just enough time to torture a certain loose lipped red haired dhampir.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Punishment? For what?" Renji asked.

"For revealing my attempts to accept Kurosaki into Rukia's life." Byakuya answered.

"O-oh…that. Actually that's a funny story." Renji laughed nervously. "Well I mean you never really said it was a secret."

"It was implied."

"Really? 'Cause I don't remember—."

"For your punishment…" Byakuya ignored Renji's questioning. "You will pay…with your body."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Are you still craving some sugar Ichigo?" Rukia asked. "We can get some ice cream." She pointed to an ice cream cart that was parked on the walkway near the park.

"You probably just want some for yourself." Ichigo sneered.

"So untrusting…so cynical…" Rukia shook her head. "That's a tough way to live my friend." She patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Shut up." Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"C'mon let's go get the ice cream." Rukia grinned. They joined hands, as they walked, and aside for the slight blushes on their faces, it felt natural. It felt right. After they had bought their ice cream, they sat down at a nearby bench.

"Can I try some of yours?" Rukia asked as she eyed his ice cream cone. Ichigo took one look at her, took a lick of his ice cream, and then pulled her face in, their mouths colliding. Ichigo slipped his tongue a little into Rukia's mouth so that their tongues touched. Then he released her. "S-stupid! I didn't mean like that!" Rukia blushed and pushed the orange haired vampire slightly. Ichigo smirked and leaned in and licked the ice cream off her chin. "I-Ichigo!"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Byakuya-dono…i-is this really my punishment?"

"Yes, now on your knees Renji."

"Yes sir!" Renji couldn't help but grin. This didn't feel like a punishment at all. He bent down and picked up the hand sized spade and thrust it into the moist earth. He then took a little purple pansy out of its pot and placed it into the hole he had made in the soil. He then began burying dirt around its cute little green leaves.

"Plant all of these, and your payment will be complete." Byakuya instructed and gestured towards the potted flowers.

Renji nodded. "So why did you want to plant these here?" He asked, curious as to why Byakuya would want flowers planted in the front yard of the vampire estate.

"To add curb appeal." Byakuya stated as if this was obvious.

"Ha ha of course." Renji chuckled.

"Report to me after you've completed your task." Byakuya ordered, and then left.

"Aye aye sir~" Renji joked after Byakuya was out of his sight. He breathed out slowly as he looked over all the flowers to be planted. "Well I guess I better get started." He sighed and reached for a terra cotta pot, when an arm grabbed him from behind, a black leather glove covered his mouth. Renji struggled to break free, but then he felt something stab him in the thigh. He keeled over in pain, before someone knocked him over the head, causing him to lose consciousness.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"We're home." Ichigo said as he and Rukia entered his house and removed their shoes. "…Hello?"

"No one's home?" Rukia noticed.

"Yeah, that's weird…" Ichigo looked around suspiciously.

"Maybe they're upstairs?"

"I'll go look. You check the kitchen." Ichigo said, and Rukia nodded in agreement. As Ichigo walked up the stairs, he could smell something slightly familiar and…tasty. Suddenly his heart beat increased, and he dashed straight to Karin and Yuzu's bedroom and flung the door open. His eyes went wide at the sight. There was blood splattered everywhere. Ichigo clutched his shirt to contain his increasing thirst, as his eyes darted to and fro for some sign of Yuzu or Karin. He heard a slight thumping coming from the closet. He dashed over and slid the door open to see Yuzu gagged, with her wrists and legs tied up with thick vine like rope. She had specks of blood on her face and pink shirt, but she didn't appear to be hurt, aside from a couple of bruises.

"Y-Yuzu!" Ichigo bent down to untie her. He reached to remove the gag, when Yuzu's eyes went wide as she tried to say something that only resulted in muffled cries. "It's ok Yuzu!" Ichigo tried to comfort her. "I'm here—" Suddenly there was a loud clang as something hit him from behind. Then Ichigo's whole world blacked out.

* * *

**A/N**

Suspense! Oh how I missed my precious cliff hangers.


	32. A Rogue Hunter

Hey, I'm back. I guess I took a little (or long) hiatus. I was getting serious writer's block and couldn't even look at this story. I'm really sorry, but I've been trying to get better.

**Chapter 32 A Rogue Hunter**

"Y-Yuzu!" Ichigo bent down to untie her. He reached to remove the gag, when Yuzu's eyes went wide as she tried to say something that only resulted in muffled cries. "It's ok Yuzu!" Ichigo tried to comfort her. "I'm here—" Suddenly there was a loud clang as something hit him from behind. Then Ichigo's whole world blacked out.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ichigo?" Rukia ran up the stairs after she heard the noise. "Ichigo?" Rukia immediately recognized the smell of blood. She followed the scent to Yuzu and Karin's room. "Hello?" She called out, but to no answer. She studied the blood stains to find some clue as to whose blood it was. All she could tell was that it was fresh, which meant whatever happened here, happened recently. She fished out her cell phone from her pocket and called Ichigo, but he didn't pick up. Rukia decided that she needed to call the council first to report what looked like the remains of a vampire attack.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ichi-nii!"

"Ichigo wake up!"

"Oh my god! I think he's dead!

"He's not dead sensei!" Ichigo awoke to some panicked cries. He opened his eyes to see Renji, Yuzu, Karin, and Mrs. Mochizuki staring down at him.

"W-what…" Ichigo blinked, as he sat up and rubbed his head.

"KUROSAKI-KUN, CAN YOU HEAR ME?" Mrs. Mochizuki shouted into his ear, and then shoved two fingers in front of his face. "How many fingers am I holding up? KUROSAKI-KUN?"

"Yeah…I can hear you…" Ichigo sighed as he tried to ignore the throbbing pain in his head. He turned to Yuzu and Karin. "Hey are you guys ok?"

"We're ok Ichi-nii." Karin put on a brave face, while Yuzu nodded feebly.

"Good." Ichigo breathed. "But what is this place?" They were in a dirty dark dingy place that resembled a large closet. It had concrete floors and stained pale beige walls. The only light was a dim amber glow that came from a single bulb installed in the ceiling. Renji gave him a serious look. He took Ichigo aside and let out a sharp sigh. "Where are we?"

"That's…I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think vampires brought us here." Renji answered.

"Vampires?"

"Yeah, I found some corpses in the box over there." Renji gestured to a dark part of the small room. "They had vampire bite marks all over them."

"So what you mean like rogue vampires?" Ichigo asked. "Rukia told me about them. "That they're batshit crazy or something."

"Yeah pretty much." Renji nodded. "But I don't get why they would trap us in here. They can probably tell that sensei and your sisters are human, so why didn't they just drink their blood?"

"Yeah…unless they're using them to get something from us."

"I don't know...after a pure blood's gone insane, it's not exactly common for them to actually think out a plan like that. Or think anything at all."

"So then…why're we here?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

It was getting late, and Byakuya was starting to wonder why Renji hadn't come to check in with him yet. There weren't that many flowers so he couldn't have still been planting them, Byakuya figured. He decided to go out and check. As soon as he stepped outside of the house he spotted Rukia running towards him.

"Nii-sama!" Rukia had a panicked expression. "Ichigo's gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean?" Byakuya questioned.

"…I think it was the work of rogue vampires." Rukia answered.

"Are you sure?"

"…No, but…" Rukia looked away.

"Have you reported this to the council?"

"I'm going to meet with them now to discuss a plan." Rukia explained.

"I'm coming with you."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Damn it, they even took our phones!" Renji cursed.

"Ok everybody…let's just calm down…everything's going to be ok…we're all going to be just fine." Mrs. Mochizuki said in a serene voice. Suddenly her eyes went wide and she threw her purse to the ground. "Who am I kidding? We're all going die! They're going to kill us and we don't even know who _they_ are!" She screeched.

"Mrs. Mochizuki—."

"Oh god what did I do to deserve this? I've been mostly a good person! Ok so I _accidentally_ groped a student once! So I may or may not stalk that same student once in a while! I mean I only do it because I care!"

"Calm Down woman!" Karin shouted. Everyone was silent.

"Excuse me little girl," Mrs. Mochizuki huffed. "But I don't think—."

"Shh! I hear someone coming." Ichigo reprimanded. They all held their breath at the clip claps of black boots that were coming closer and closer, until the door burst open.

"Oh my God!" Mrs. Mochizuki dropped to her knees and held up her hands. "I surrender! Please don't kill me!" The woman on the other side of the door merely looked confused. Then suddenly she winced as if a realization had just hit her.

"Damn that idiot." She muttered as she fished out a cell phone from her pocket and tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the other line to pick up. "Hey you idiot! These aren't rogues! There are humans in here! What were you thinking? No, you know what? You're fired! You and your whole crew! You're all fired!" She hung up and grumbled to herself about useless people. Then she turned to Ichigo and the others, an awkward expression on her face. "Hey…sorry about this." She forced a polite grin. "And can I talk to you for a second?" She grabbed Ichigo by the arm without waiting for a response and took him aside.

"Who are you? What—?"

"Not important." The dark haired lady cut him off. "All you need to know is I'm a rogue hunter. It's my job to catch rogue vampires. Apparently my associates thought you and your friends were rogues. I apologize for his foolish mistake."

"…But then what about those corpses in that box?"

"Ah those…Well since this is the place we usually store the rogues, we give them some corpses. They like to gnaw on the limbs and such." She explained in a matter of fact tone. "Oh but don't worry, the bodies were dead before we get them. The jail sends them over, mostly the executed criminals."

"Oh…" Was Ichigo's intelligent response.

"You're a pure blood aren't you?"

"H-how'd you know?" Ichigo asked still on his guard.

"Oh I can tell." She grinned. "But are the rest of them human? I can't really tell dhampirs and humans apart."

"Why do you wanna know?"

"Well if one of them is a dhampir we can contact their partner and straighten this little mess out. I mean I'm sure you don't want humans finding out about this huh?"

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

Byakuya and Rukia had just walked all the way across the vampire estate, which seemed to stretch for miles, and were about to enter the council's main hall, when Rukia heard something.

"_He really got me working up an appetite/He had tattoos up and down his arm/There's nothing more dangerous than a boy with charm"_

"Um Nii-sama…isn't that your phone?"

"Hm?"

"Y-your phone Nii-sama. It's ringing." Rukia repeated. Byakuya blinked, not realizing that that noise was coming from his own pocket. He fished it out and stared at it. The screen had the words "Renji Calling" on it.

"It's Renji." Byakuya announced.

"I see." Rukia replied, wondering if Byakuya was actually going to answer it.

"_He's a one stop shop with a real big "uh"/He's a sweet talking sugar coated candyman"_

Byakuya was having some trouble remembering how to answer the phone. It was one of those new fangled models and Byakuya just couldn't keep up with the times. He couldn't let Rukia see that though. His pride was on the line. Is it the green button or the red one? He couldn't remember for the life of him and just touched the screen at random. The song immediately stopped. Byakuya stared at the screen that read "Call rejected."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"He hung up." The Rogue Hunter lady blinked. Then she turned to Renji. "Does he hate you or something?"

"W-what? N-no!" Renji retorted, and then paused for a second. "I-I mean I don't think he does…" They were now sitting in The Rogue Hunter lady's office, which was a tad cozier than the closet like rogue dungeon they were in before. It was cramped but it was a clean little space, with an old maple desk to one corner with a laptop and some other office-y like supplies spread out on top of it. There was a sofa chair next to a large potted plant at the other corner and dark grey carpeting. The rogue hunter lady was leaning against the desk, trying to reach Byakuya through Renji's cell phone. Ichigo stifled a chuckle at Renji's pained expression and walked into the office next door, where Karin and Yuzu were sitting on the couch and watching some TV while drinking hot chocolate. Mrs. Mochizuki had a mug of coffee in her hand as she stared at the window, expression unreadable.

"Hey, how you guys holding up?" Ichigo asked as he patted Yuzu's head.

"We're fine Ichi-nii." Yuzu smiled up at him.

"But what's going on here? Who's that lady?" Karin asked. At those words Mrs. Mochizuki turned around.

"Oh she's…uh well she thought we were someone else and captured us by accident."

"But who_ is_ she?"

"Well she's kind of like a…a bounty hunter." Ichigo lied.

"A bounty hunter?" Mrs. Mochizuki gasped.

"Sort of…" Ichigo averted his eyes.

"How much does she charge?" Mrs. Mochizuki asked. Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin stared at the teacher. "Uh…never mind."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Um Nii-sama, why'd you hang up on Renji? I thought you were going to answer it?" Byakuya just stared at the phone, trying to retain every last ounce of composure he could. "How about we call him back? It could be something important?"

"Yes…" Byakuya paused. How the hell was he supposed to make a call when he couldn't even figure out how to answer one? "I'll just…"

"_He's a sweet talking sugar coated candyman ooh yeah/a sweet talking sugar coated candyman"_

"It's Renji again." Byakuya stated, and then handed the phone to Rukia. "You talk to him."

"H-huh? Ah ok!" Rukia took the phone and put it on speaker. "Hello? Renji?"

"Hi, you don't sound like a man." A lady's voice said. Byakuya took the phone from Rukia.

"Who is this?" He questioned. "Where's Renji?"

"Ah there he is. The pure blood I presume?" The Rogue Hunter Lady said. "Hey I'm from the Rogue Hunters Clan. We've got your guy here. Oh and also a pure blood named…sorry I didn't catch your name kid." Her voice trailed off, from turning her face from the phone to ask Ichigo. "Ichigo? What a cute name." They could hear her laugh, and then heard some grumbling most likely from Ichigo. Then her voice became clearer. "Anyways his name's Ichigo." She said. "Yeah you see some of my guys accidentally snatched up these guys, so…yeah. It'd be great if you could come get them without you know, reporting this to anyone of anything troublesome like that."

"Ichigo!" Rukia exclaimed. "He was with you?"

"Yup." The lady replied. "Oh and so are his little sisters and some old hag."

"How dare you!" Byakuya and Rukia heard a voice squeal, probably Mrs. Mochizuki.

"Anyways…I assume you know the address? Or should I tell you—."

"No need. I know where to go. We'll be there in twenty minutes." Byakuya answered.

"Twenty minutes? But I'm sure it takes longer to get here from the vampire house." The lady said.

"I have my ways." Byakuya stated then hung up.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Nii-sama…Is this the legendary…?" Rukia blinked in amazement at the sight before her. They were in the vampire house's garages, and standing in front of a shiny black hearse.

"Yes this is it." Byakuya replied, as he opened the door to the driver's seat. Once they were both seated, Byakuya held up his thumb, and Rukia watched anxiously, as he used his glittering white fang to make a cut in his thumb deep enough to draw blood. As soon as blood was visible he pressed his thumb against a small touch pad beside the steering wheel. Soon there were some buzzing sounds and a final beep. Then the car started up on its own and rose into the air slightly.

"Nii-sama, it really flies?" Rukia questioned excitedly.

"Yes, and by placing my blood here, it should be able to fly us to Renji's location."

"I see. So by putting the blood from one partner, it can automatically find the other." Rukia nodded.

"That's right." Byakuya replied. "Rukia, its best you fasten your seatbelt for this part." Soon the car swooped even higher, now safely out of the garage it flew upwards, and zoomed forward. They soon flew over office buildings, shopping centers, parks and houses. Rukia was amazed at the dazzling view of the city below them. Her heart was much calmer now, knowing Ichigo wasn't being attacked by some insane rogue vampires, or worse rogues turning him into one of them. She vowed to herself to protect him as best as she could as to not let something as horrid as that happen. Suddenly she remembered something strange.

"Nii-sama…?"

"Yes?" Byakuya replied, eyes on the sky in front of him.

"I was just wondering about something…" Rukia started. "Right after Ichigo was kidnapped, I went into his room, and there was fresh blood smeared everywhere."

"Yes. When hunters are trying to lure rogues into a trap, they usually splatter fresh blood around the area." Byakuya explained. "Rogue vampires can smell the blood from miles away."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ah they're here!" The Rogue Hunter Lady announced as she spotted the hearse landing from outside the window. They all stepped outside of the office, as Byakuya and Rukia got out of the funeral car.

"Rukia!" Ichigo ran up to greet her.

"Ichigo!" Rukia smiled as he walked up to her, but then when he was close enough she punched him in the gut.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" Ichigo yelled.

"You idiot! How could you let yourself get caught so easily?" Rukia berated him.

"Y-you don't have to hit me so hard you little—!"

"Wow seems like they get along." The Rogue Hunter Lady grinned.

"You don't know the half of it." Renji sighed, still trying to erase the thought that they did the dirty in his bed not long ago.

"Ah so you're the pure blood, Kuchiki was it?" The Rogue Hunter Lady asked as Byakuya walked up to them.

"Yes. What is the meaning of this?" Byakuya questioned.

"Like I said on the phone, it's all a big misunderstanding. My stupid lackeys royally screwed up. You can let this go can't you?" The lady asked. Byakuya remained silent, thinking this over. He glanced to his side, noticing Renji looking at him. The red head quickly averted his gaze, when Byakuya noticed.

"Renji—." He was interrupted by the loud screeching of Mrs. Mochizuki running toward them.

"Byakuya-san you came to save me!" She squealed. "Well I guess you're not so bad. I might just forgive all your horrible and inappropriate behavior until now."

"Horrible behavior?" The Rogue Hunter Lady questioned. "What did you do to her?"

"I don't recall ever seeing this person before." Byakuya stated simply.

"How dare you!" She cried. "You disgusting, pedophile! You sexual predator! You…you damn sexy man!" She fell to her knees, hysterically, crying or laughing. No one could really tell. Maybe a little of both.

"Uh I think she needs to go home and get some rest." Renji suggested.

"Or a trip to the hospital." Karin added.

"Fine. The events of this night will be forgiven, but if this happens another time..." Byakuya said.

"I got it." The Rogue Hunter Lady nodded. Then she said quietly, so only Byakuya could hear. "You've got a cute dhampir partner. I'm ashamed to say I've got a thing for dhampir men." She winked.

Byakuya almost lost his composure for a second. "He's in high school." He stated.

"Aw darn." She frowned. Byakuya smirked to himself, feeling like he had achieved some kind of victory. "Oh well I'll try in a year or so." She said. Byakuya did not expect that. He had to say something to put her off Renji. But wait…why didn't he want a woman going after Renji? No it wasn't that, it was just that this woman was too old for Renji. Yes that was it, Byakuya decided to himself. That was the only reason. Except wait…didn't Renji say he preferred older women? Byakuya was so consumed in his thoughts that he didn't realize Mrs. Mochizuki's second hysterical fit, or Ichigo and Rukia's never ending arguments.

"Byakuya-dono…are we gonna head out now?" Renji asked, snapping Byakuya back to reality.

"Renji…you—."

"Ok, the old hag's all strapped in." The Rogue Hunter Lady announced and a put a hand on Renji's shoulder. Byakuya forced himself not to twitch in anger.

"Fine let's go." Byakuya replied, and turned to leave. It took longer for them to get home since they had to drive all the way home instead of flying, so that Karin and Yuzu wouldn't find out about the vampires and their magical flying car.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

After Ichigo and the others had left, the Rogue Hunter Lady fished out her phone and decided to make a call.

"Hello?" She spoke after the other person picked up. "Yes this is her. The plan didn't work. No those idiots brought some humans along." She grumbled. "I know sir. But don't worry I'll try again. After all pure bloods that have a risk of turning rogue are just as dangerous as actual rogues. That's why I'm gonna' get those future psychopaths." She grinned sinisterly. "Actually they did right in grabbing that orange haired kid. Yep he's definitely a candidate for our process." She said. "His name? Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo."

* * *

**A/N**

Dun Dun Dun! Rogue Hunter Lady has sinister plans! But don't worry she won't be back…or will she? You thought it was bad with one crazy cougar lady? Now there's two! There will be more IchiRuki in the next chapter I promise!


	33. A dinner with Niisama

New chapter here! I was fast wasn't I? Well faster than usual! Anyways...enjoy!

**Chapter 33 A dinner with Nii-sama  
**

After Ichigo and the others had left, the Rogue Hunter Lady fished out her phone and decided to make a call.

"Hello?" She spoke after the other person picked up. "Yes this is her. The plan didn't work. No those idiots brought some humans along." She grumbled. "I know sir. But don't worry I'll try again. After all pure bloods that have a risk of turning rogue are just as dangerous as actual rogues. That's why I'm gonna' get those future psychopaths." She grinned sinisterly. "Actually they did right in grabbing that orange haired kid. Yep he's definitely a candidate for our process." She said. "His name? Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

By the time they reached the Kurosaki residence, Yuzu and Karin had fallen asleep. Ichigo had to carry them in, with Rukia not far behind after saying her goodbyes to Byakuya and Renji. After Karin and Yuzu had gone to sleep, Ichigo opened his bedroom door and was greeted to the overpowering scent of bleach and citrus cleaning fluid.

"Oh yeah that rogue hunter woman said she sent some professional cleaners to get rid of the blood." Ichigo said.

"They work fast." Rukia commented.

"Yeah but now it stinks of chemicals." Ichigo covered his nose. He opened the window to let in some ventilation, and they decided to wait downstairs until the smell had faded. Ichigo decided to check his phone for messages, and he had a voicemail from his dad.

"_Hello my dearest son! There's been a stomach flu bug going around so I'll have to be working overtime for the whole weekend! I'll be sleeping at the clinic so take care of my three precious daughters! Make sure Karin and Yuzu brush their teeth and do their homework! Oh and for Rukia-chan, make sure you use condoms!"_

"Well at least we won't have to come up with an excuse for what happened, since Oyaji was at the clinic." Ichigo told Rukia as he sat down on the sofa beside her. He glanced towards Rukia, noticing her silence.

"Ichigo…" Rukia began, but then was caught off guard, when Ichigo laid his head on her lap. "W-what are you—?"

"I'm tired." Ichigo sighed.

"Y-you idiot…"Rukia blushed, but didn't try to fight him. Ichigo closed his eyes, as she gingerly ran her hand through his orange hair.

"It was just an accident you know?" Ichigo said. "It's not like it was your fault so you don't have to blame yourself."

"Huh? Oh I don't care about that." Rukia replied matter of factly.

"W-what?" Ichigo shot up. "T-then why were you looking all serious?"

"Actually there was this limited edition Chappy mini shovel up for auction online, but I didn't get it. Some fiend in England bid one dollar higher." Rukia shook her head in disgust.

"…a shovel." Ichigo had an unreadable expression on his face. His eye twitched slightly. Then he suddenly stood up and slammed his palms on the coffee table. "A stupid shitty shovel?"

"Shh! You fool! You'll wake up Karin and Yuzu!" Rukia hissed. "And it's not stupid or shitty. It's amazing and comes with the rare Chappy paw print emblem sticker."

"Well excuse me! I thought you'd be—oh I don't know—maybe a little concerned that your teacher, and your best friend had just got captured. That Yuzu and Karin were kidnapped! T-that I…" He let out a sharp breath and sunk back down onto the couch, massaging his forehead. "I couldn't do anything…" It was almost a whisper. "What if…it wasn't an accident? I couldn't save Karin and Yuzu. They could have gotten hurt…they could've…Ow!" Ichigo looked up to see Rukia staring down at him, her fist still in the air.

"So?"

"Huh?"

"So what? You couldn't do anything…sitting here crying about it isn't going to make you more capable of saving them in the future." Rukia stated.

"I wasn't crying!" Ichigo blushed. "And I know that!"

"Good." She grinned. "Then you're ready."

"Ready for what?"

"We're going to have dinner with Nii-sama tomorrow night. We'll talk about it then."

"Huh? Why can't you just tell me now?" Ichigo asked. "Ready for what?"

"So are you hungry? You didn't get any blood today right?" Rukia asked, ignoring Ichigo's queries. "Do you still feel like eating sweet things? Before you said you felt like eating sugary foods."

"Hm…no I'm fine, I'm tired so I'll just go to bed." Ichigo answered.

"Oh…ok." Rukia said, feeling a little disappointed.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Hey Rukia…" Ichigo nudged the short girl.

"…Ichigo? What happened?" Rukia rubbed her sleepy eyes, and stepped out of her closet bed. It was still dark outside, and she could barely make out Ichigo's expression. Suddenly she was shoved against the wall and she felt Ichigo's warm lips brush her neck. Immediately Rukia punched him in the gut, sending him falling to the floor.

"Ow! Rukia?" Ichigo grumbled.

"What do you think you're doing to someone who's half asleep in the middle of the night!" Rukia reprimanded, cheeks tinted pink.

"I was hungry!" Ichigo replied angrily, while rubbing his stomach where he'd been hit.

"W-well that's…you could have just said that." Rukia said. "Or better yet, grab one of the blood juice boxes from the drawer and drink that. Instead of waking me up every time you need a quick fix. Shame on you fool!"

"Geez what's your problem?" Ichigo groaned. "I could have done that. But I was going to drink your blood, because I thought you liked it."

"W-what?" Rukia blushed. "W-when did I say that…"

"I mean honestly it seemed like you enjoyed it more than I do." Ichigo shrugged. "But now you're saying you don't want me to, so I guess I'll—."

"W-wait!" Rukia grabbed his arm. "You…f-fine…drink the blood juice box! You think I enjoyed it that much huh? Well guess what? I faked it. In reality it felt like a leech on my neck!" She pointed a finger right in his face, making the carrot top twitch. "An ugly fat leech!"

"Y-you little…" Ichigo glared.

"Hm? What's that leech man? I can't understand you~." Rukia smirked. "After all you're just a leech, its not like you can speak human words. Not like Chappy~ In the cartoon special, Chappy could speak perfectly in Japanese. Because Chappy's cute unlike a certain leech~"

"Again with that stupid Chappy?" That was the last straw for Ichigo. He picked up Rukia, and despite her protests, he was too strong for her. He plopped her down on the bed and pushed himself on top of her.

"I-Ichigo!"

"M-me or that Chappy thing…" Ichigo blushed.

"Huh? Rukia blinked.

"Ch-choose one."

"What?" Rukia chuckled. "You're jealous of…Chappy?"

"S-shut up and choose one!" Ichigo's cheeks reddened more. "Me or—."

"Chappy."

"W-wha—?"

"I choose Chappy." Rukia grinned, noticing Ichigo becoming even more frustrated. "What are you going to do about it hm?"

"You idiot." Ichigo got closer. "Can your stupid Chappy do this?" Ichigo held Rukia's cheek with his right hand, their mouths inches away. He slid his left arm under and around her waist pulling her even closer. Rukia could feel his breath on her cheek, his firm muscled body pressing closer.

"I-Ichigo…" Rukia breathed, as Ichigo's tongue ran across her neck.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Well looks like you guys don't waste anytime." Renji commented noticed the bite mark on Rukia's neck, as they were walking to school the next morning. Both Ichigo and Rukia blushed heavily, while Rukia flustered to cover it up with a band aid she fished out of her school bag.

"I-Its—." Rukia tried to explain.

"Anyways…" Renji sighed, waving it away. "So you guys are going to have that dinner thing with Byakuya-dono tonight right?"

"Yeah…you coming?" Ichigo asked.

"Me? No I wasn't invited." Renji replied. "Besides it's got nothing to do with me."

"Well that's true." Ichigo nodded.

"Aw c'mon, I'm sure Nii-sama wouldn't mind if you came." Rukia said. "Besides we're going to that special restaurant that caters to vampires. Apparently it's really hard to find."

"Huh? Oh that place? I already went there before" Renji said.

"You did? By yourself?" Rukia asked.

"No. I went with B—." Renji decided not to tell Rukia that he went with Byakuya because then she would just make a big deal even thought nothing happened, and Ichigo would tease him.

"With who?" Rukia asked an excited expression on her face. "Someone who's name starts with a B?" She pressed.

"Uh…B…Bill from accounting!" Renji blathered.

"…Who?"

"I-I don't know!" Renji flustered and dashed away at abnormal speeds.

Ichigo shook his head. "He's really transparent."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ok class, I'm so excited for today's lesson!" Yumichika squealed. It was the next day, at P.E. class. "Today we're going to try on ballroom dancing outfits!" He bounced around in a little dance while Ikkaku rolled in tons and tons of racks of sparkly clothes.

"Yumi-sensei do we really have to put these on?" Tatsuki sighed apathetically.

"Yeah seriously! These dresses will completely take away from Hime's beauty!" Chizuru complained, rather loudly. "And not to mention her boobs! Which is like half of her beauty!"

"On not you again!" Yumichika groaned. "Listen! I am the teacher so do what I say and put on these sparkly dance outfits!"

"Yes sensei…"

"Hey why are the pants and shirts connected?" A brown haired male student asked.

"So that you don't drop your pants while dancing." Yumichika explained.

"I bet that bald dude drops his pants for Yumi-sensei every night." A student with a bowl cut commented, while some other students chuckled.

"That's it!" Ikkaku marched right up to them, and got right up in the bowl cut boy's face. "Listen here you little bastard. This is a shaved scalp! Can't you see the hair follicles?" The students looked at Ikkaku's scalp and could see nothing but a very shiny head. Suddenly some of the glitter from Yumichika's ballroom costumes glinted off Ikkaku shiny head and blinded the students.

"My eyes! It burns!" They cried.

"That's what you brats get." Ikkaku snorted.

"Ikkaku stop blinding the students, and come put this on." Yumichika instructed and held up a sparkling red sequined blouse and spandex black pants.

Ikkaku stared at the glittery get up and groaned. "I hate my life."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Ishida-kun!" Ishida turned around, to see Orihime running up to him. School had just ended, and students were filing out of the area.

"Inoue-san…"

"Let's walk home together ne?" The auburn haired girl smiled.

"S-sure." Ishida blushed.

"Weren't those costumes that Yumi-sensei brought funny?" Orihime giggled. "B-but I think you looked nice in that sparkly blue top Ishida-kun."

"T-thanks…the construction for the slacks were all over the place though. I would like to get the number to complain to the amateur who thought they were doing right by that fabric by handling it so poorly. They should be ashamed to call themselves a seamstress." Ishida shook his head, clearly disgusted. Then realized his excessive complaining. "Ah sorry."

"No its ok." Orihime smiled. "It's nice to see you're so passionate about sewing Ishida-kun." Ishida blushed and looked down, while adjusting his glasses.

"A-actually Inoue-san…there's this sewing convention next weekend at the craft store…and I-I was wondering if you…i-if you…."

"T-that sounds like fun!" Orihime cheered. "I'd love to go Ishida-kun!"

"R-really?" Ishida blinked, astounded that she would agree.

"Yeah! Then maybe afterward we can get something to eat at the café next to the craft store!" Orihime exclaimed, excitedly. "They make really good pastries."

Ishida smiled. "I…I would like that very much."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Look at our dear son Masaki!" Isshin cried. "He's already going off to get married and he's taking our precious third daughter as his bride!"

"Relax Oyaji, we're just having dinner with Rukia's brother." Ichigo sighed, as he adjusted his tie and looked in the bathroom mirror to adjust his hair.

"Ichigo? Are you done applying your makeup? Nii-sama's going to be her soon!" Rukia called from downstairs.

"Shut up! I'm coming!" Ichigo shouted back.

"Ichigo…" Isshin wore a rare serious expression as he put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"Oyaji…?"

"Ichigo remember be confident. Don't be intimidated if he shows you his gun collection, he's just trying to scare you. Ok let's do a practice. If he asks you if you and Rukia-chan have had sex…what will you say?"

"I'm going." Ichigo walked past his dad.

"Wait Ichigo! Daddy needs to know these things before anyone else!" Isshin cried.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Geez where the hell is this place?" Ichigo groaned, as Byakuya parked in front of a dark alley. When they got inside the restaurant and took their seats at a round booth with Rukia in the middle, Ichigo opened up the menu.

"Woah…the blood…there's so much." He ogled the menu like a kid at a candy store, until he saw the prices. "Geh…this place is expensive. Hey Byakuya are you treating us?"

"Ichigo!" Rukia kicked him under the table.

"I'm treating Rukia and myself." Byakuya stated.

"Nii-sama…." Rukia sighed.

"Well fine, then I'll just wait until tonight to eat, right Rukia?" Ichigo smirked. "Besides it'll be more satisfying that way…for _both_ of us." Byakuya tried his best to maintain his composure, though it was quite obvious he was emitting waves of hate throughout the whole restaurant.

"A-anyways…" Rukia tried to clear the tension, when her phone rang. "Ah excuse me Nii-sama. Behave Ichigo." She warned before she stepped away to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hey." It was Renji. "How's the dinner going?"

"Awful. Nii-sama refuses to pay and Ichigo is just making it worse." Rukia sighed. "Hey Renji what do you think I should do?"

"Hell if I know, those two are like oil and water."

"Well thanks that's so helpful." Rukia deadpanned.

"Sorry…hey what about getting them drunk? Everything always seems better when you're drunk."

"That's your suggestion? Get them drunk?" Rukia sighed. "Maybe I'll just—." Rukia was interrupted by a scream. "Uh Renji I'll call you back." She hung up and ran back to her table to see forks everywhere; wedged into the booth, jammed through the table all over the table. Ichigo was glaring at Byakuya, and Byakuya had a deadly glint in his eye.

Needless to say they were kicked out of the restaurant.

"This is what happens when you're throwing those stupid forks around." Ichigo complained, as the three walked down the street towards Byakuya's car.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again. The fork slipped." Byakuya said.

"How could 56 forks slip huh?" Ichigo shouted. Rukia knew she had to do something or these two would never get along, when she spotted a small restaurant and pub across the street. At this rate it couldn't hurt she figured.

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Uh...this is…" Ichigo stared at the sight in front of him.

"I-I guess this was a bad idea…" Rukia sweat dropped. "But I didn't know Nii-sama was so bad with alcohol." Byakuya was hiccupping and leaning against the table while nursing an empty martini glass. His porcelain white cheeks were bright pink.

"He didn't even drink that much…" Ichigo noted. Then the noble suddenly shot up, shaky on his feet, he walked over to a table of complete strangers and started drunkenly flirting simultaneously with a woman and man. "Ok….I think its time to go…" Ichigo sighed. Ichigo and Rukia supported Byakuya's weight as they left the restaurant. They dragged him to the car, put him in the backseat, and belted him up, and then they sat up front with Rukia in the driver's seat. Byakuya didn't say anything and just sat in the back, as if in a sleepy daze.

"He still barely talks even though he's drunk." Ichigo said.

"Yeah he just becomes really flirty." Rukia giggled.

"I thought you were gonna' mention something stupid like putting him in a room with Renji or something." Rukia's eyes lit up.

"Ichigo! That's a great idea!" Rukia gasped.

"What? No! I was just….ah shit."

-\/ \/-\/ \/-\/ \/-

"Renji!" Rukia called out, as they knocked on Renji's bedroom door. "Hm, he won't answer his phone. You think he's sleeping?"

"I don't know…"Ichigo replied, holding up the drunk, now sleeping Byakuya. "Let's just put him in his room and go."

"Fine…" Rukia gave up. "Nii-sama's room is this way." She gestured down the hall, when they saw Yoruichi walking.

"Ah if it isn't Ichigo and Rukia." She grinned and walked up to them. "What happened to ole Bya-bo?" She laughed. "Got a little drunk there did he?"

"Uh yes…" Rukia said.

"Well anyways, I'm glad I caught you guys because I wanted to give you these." She handed them ivory envelopes.

"What are these?" Ichigo asked.

"Wedding invitations." She grinned. "See ya." At that she was gone.

"A wedding? Who's getting married?" Ichigo asked Rukia.

"I didn't know Yoruichi-san was dating anyone." Rukia blinked, and then realized something. "Ichigo…where's Nii-sama?"

* * *

**A/N**

It's the greatest Bleach love triangle! Ichigo x Rukia x Chappy! Unfortunatly it doesn't seem like Chappy will be getting any for a while.


End file.
